Israeli military forces announced on Monday their withdrawal from Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City following a two-week operation, leaving behind a scene of devastation with destroyed structures and Palestinian casualties strewn across the hospital grounds.
Upon the departure of the Israeli forces, hundreds of residents hurried to the vicinity of Gaza’s largest hospital to assess the extent of damage to the surrounding residential areas in the aftermath of the clashes between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas group, which governs Gaza.
According to the Israeli military, the operation resulted in the elimination and capture of numerous armed individuals in the hospital’s vicinity, along with the confiscation of weapons and intelligence materials. However, Hamas and medical personnel refute claims of armed Palestinian presence within hospital premises.
A spokesperson for Gaza’s Civil Emergency Service alleged that Israeli forces executed two individuals whose bodies were discovered at the hospital complex in restraints, and employed bulldozers to excavate the grounds and retrieve buried bodies.
While Reuters could not independently verify the allegations of executions, Israel’s military did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Unverified footage circulating on social media depicted deceased Palestinians, some covered in makeshift blankets, scattered around the charred remains of the hospital building, with many outer walls missing. The grounds appeared extensively disturbed, and numerous structures outside the hospital were either flattened or engulfed in flames.
Samir Basel, 43, expressed profound grief, stating, “I haven’t stopped crying since I arrived here. Horrible massacres were committed by the occupation.” Basel emphasized the urgent need for reconstruction, declaring, “The place is destroyed. Buildings have been burnt and destroyed. This place needs to be rebuilt – there is no Shifa hospital anymore.”
Israel asserted that its operations within Al Shifa Hospital were conducted with the aim of safeguarding civilians, patients, and medical personnel.
