Israeli soldiers have entered Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis. According to a military spokesman, the operation was limited to the search for Hamas hostages. The health authority speaks of a storm on the clinic.
Israeli soldiers have entered the Nasser Hospital in the Gaza Strip – the largest still functioning clinic in the south of the region. The Israeli military said it was a limited operation to search for the bodies of hostages held by the militant Islamist Hamas. There is “credible intelligence information” that Hamas was holding hostages in the hospital. Hostages are also being held there. Several suspects were arrested.
Gray areas: Built-up areas in the Gaza Strip, hatching: Israeli army
A spokesman for the Hamas-run health ministry in the Gaza Strip accused Israel of a “massive incursion” into the clinic. There was heavy shooting and many of the displaced people staying there were injured. The military ordered medical personnel to move all patients to an older building that was not well equipped to treat them. Evacuation is not possible for many patients. The information could not be independently verified.
Videos published on the Internet are intended to show parts of the operation. Chaotic scenes can be seen, screams and shots can be heard in darkened corridors.
A man blocks an entrance to Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip.
Many people fled from hospital
Medical staff at Nasser Hospital had previously reported that one patient was killed and six others were injured in Israeli shelling. Numerous people fled the clinic in the heavily contested area. Medical staff and patients were not forced to leave the hospital during the military operation, military spokesman Daniel Hagari said.
The Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis has been affected by fighting for weeks. Israel accuses Hamas of using hospitals to protect its fighters. A released hostage told the AP news agency in January that she and more than two dozen other hostages were being held at Nasser Hospital.
Israel reports killing of several terrorists
The Israeli army said it carried out “targeted operations” in Khan Yunis. The air force carried out a series of attacks in support of ground forces throughout the area, a spokesman said. Among other things, “underground facilities” and military bases were hit. “A number of terrorists” were killed.
Julio Segador, ARD Tel Aviv, tagesschau, February 15, 2024 5:11 p.m