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Early Wednesday, Tel Aviv time, Israeli Special Operations forces began an assault on Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza.
Al-Shifa Hospital has been the subject of a lot of discussion in the past few days as Israel tightened its cordon around Hamas strongpoints in North Gaza.
Hospitals in Gaza have been forced to stop operating as Israeli forces advance deep into the enclave and severely restrict supplies of fuel, water and food to the besieged territory.
Here are Israeli troop movements since November 2: pic.twitter.com/zh3N7m3kRU
— Financial Times (@FT) November 14, 2023
The hospital and Hamas fortifications inside the compound and underground are believed to contain many of the hostages taken on October 7-8.
While Hamas has maintained that Al-Shifa is strictly civilian, Israel and other nations have concluded that the hospital covers an extensive Hamas underground facility.
The White House said on Tuesday the U.S. has intelligence that shows Hamas has used hospitals in Gaza, including the Al-Shifa Hospital, “to conceal and to support their military operations and to hold hostages.”
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby made the announcement on Air Force One while traveling with President Joe Biden to the APEC summit in San Francisco.
It appears to be the first time the U.S. has revealed specific intelligence about how and where it says Hamas has held Israelis and Americans kidnapped when the group, designated by the U.S. as a terrorist organization, attacked Israel on Oct. 7.
“I can confirm for you that we have information that Hamas, and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, used some hospitals in the Gaza Strip, including Al-Shifa, and tunnels underneath them, to conceal and to support their military operations and to hold hostages,” he told reporters.
The attack was preceded by an Israeli warning to hospital staff that an assault was imminent.
“Urgent: The Israeli army calls Dr. Munir Al-Bursh, Director of the Ministry of Health, to inform him that special forces stormed Al-Shifa Hospital” https://t.co/iN7AOPzCay
— Faytuks News Δ (@Faytuks) November 14, 2023
#Palestine 🇵🇸 BREAKING: AJE reports that Israeli forces have informed the staff of al-Shifa that they will storm the #Gaza hospital tonight. pic.twitter.com/fSjn65QGcu
— Thomas van Linge (@ThomasVLinge) November 14, 2023
In this case, it seems that both the hospital director and the staff were informed by separate channels, perhaps to prevent involuntary martyrdom.
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This warning was validated by no less than Hamas. A Hamas commander located inside the totally civilian hospital texted a reporter to tell him that attack was imminent.
Senior Hamas official texted me:
“In a few minutes, the hospital (al-Shifa) will be stormed, according to the Israeli occupation’s official notification.”
We’ve not yet received any info from the Israeli army indicating that a raid is imminent.
I’ll update as I get more.
— Trey Yingst (@TreyYingst) November 14, 2023
Before the attack, Egyptian medical personnel used IDF equipment to evacuate critical patients.
Egypt will take the 36 premature babies in the Al-Shifa hospital into custody using IDF-provided incubators. They will be provided with medical care on Egyptian territory. This deal was reached in talks between the head of the Shin Beit and Egyptian officials yesterday.
— Shaiel Ben-Ephraim (@academic_la) November 15, 2023
I’m making that point because it demonstrates that, contrary to much of what is said in the media, Israel is following procedures required by the Geneva Conventions to minimize risk to civilians. For an in-depth discussion of those requirements and Israel’s procedures that have been deemed the “gold standard” by international legal experts, read The Israeli Bombing of the Jabalia Refugee Camp Was Another Hamas War Crime.
Al-Shifa is a sprawling complex built by Israel in the early 1980s. When building the hospital, underground operating theaters and a tunnel network were designed in.
The Israelis are so sure about the location of the Hamas bunker, however, not because they are trying to score propaganda points, or because it has been repeatedly mentioned in passing by Western reporters—but because they built it. Back in 1983, when Israel still ruled Gaza, they built a secure underground operating room and tunnel network beneath Shifa hospital—which is one among several reasons why Israeli security sources are so sure that there is a main Hamas command bunker in or around the large cement basement beneath the area of Building 2 of the Hospital, which reporters are obviously prohibited from entering.
Buildings with red soon to be verified pic.twitter.com/5TGSPaDcHa
— Isik Mater (@isik5) November 15, 2023
There is panic now in Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, there are thousands of displaced patients and journalists.#انقذوا_مستشفى_الشفاء #Gaza_Geniocide pic.twitter.com/NBOlcwhl5m
— Saif Al Muthanna . 𐩪𐩺𐩰|𐩱𐩡𐩣ُ𐩻𐩬𐩱 (@sshiaab) November 15, 2023
It is kind of hard not to notice that the “panic” involves military-age males. We’ll report more news as it becomes available.
