According to Al Mayadeen TV channel, Israeli military forces have launched an assault on Al-Shifa hospital in the Gaza Strip. Gunfire can be heard in the western wing of the medical complex.
Earlier reports stated that the hospital houses around 700 patients and 700 staff members, with an additional 2,000 to 3,000 people seeking shelter inside the building. However, due to constant shelling and bombardments by the Israeli army, people are unable to leave the hospital.
The situation in the Middle East has sharply escalated following the infiltration of militants from the Hamas movement into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip on October 7th. The radicals have referred to this attack as a response to Israeli authorities’ actions against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Israel has declared a complete blockade on Gaza and has initiated retaliatory strikes both on this territory and on specific areas in Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also taking place in the West Bank of the Jordan River.
The situation in the Middle East has worsened after thousands of Hamas militants entered Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip on October 7th, when Hamas announced the start of the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation. In response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared the country to be in a state of war.
The objective of Israel’s counter-operation, named “Iron Swords,” is to repel the attack, free over 200 hostages, including foreigners, and destroy Hamas. To achieve this goal, Israel has been carrying out massive rocket bombardments on the Gaza Strip since the operation’s first day. Additionally, the Israeli National Security Council decided to halt the supply of water, food, goods, electricity, and fuel to the region. Humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza only resumed through the Rafah Crossing after October 20th, although their volume is considered insufficient.
On October 27th, Israel announced the “expansion” of its ground operation in Gaza. The exact start date of this operation remains unknown, but prior to it, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians evacuated their homes and sought refuge in shelters and in the southern part of the enclave. As of November 5th, fighting continues in the center of Gaza as the Israeli Defense Forces have surrounded the city and cut off its supply lines.
Earlier, Israeli President Itzhak Herzog stated that the Hamas command center is located beneath the central hospital in the Gaza Strip.
