Israel accused Palestinian terrorists Sunday of destroying Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, after days of battle in which the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confronted hundreds of Hamas and Islamic Jihad members using the hospital as a base.
In some case, the Israeli military said, Hamas terrorists were firing from the emergency room, the maternity ward, and the burn unit. Hamas was thwarting Israel’s effort to allow normal hospital functions to continue, the IDF said.
In a statement, IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said (translation via IDF):
Today is day 6 of the IDF’s operation against Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Shifa Hospital.
170 terrorists were neutralized in or around the Shifa Hospital compound while firing at our forces.
The IDF apprehended hundreds of terror suspects with confirmed ties to Hamas or Islamic Jihad, making this one of the most successful operations since the start of the war.
A large number of these terrorists were involved in planning and executing the brutal massacre of October 7.
This operation is not over.
Right now, Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists are barricading themselves inside Shifa hospital wards.
Hamas is destroying Shifa hospital.
Hamas is firing from inside the Shifa Emergency Room and Maternity Ward and throwing explosive devices from the Shifa Burn Ward.
Terrorists hiding around the hospital fired mortars at our forces, causing extensive damage to the hospital buildings.
I repeat: Hamas is firing mortars at the Shifa hospital.
Hamas is destroying the Shifa hospital.
Hamas hijacked the Shifa Hospital and hides behind the sick and injured, waging war from inside Shifa Hospital.
The IDF operates with precision and acts with care towards the patients and medical staff inside the hospital.We do this because we distinguish between Hamas terrorists and the civilians they are hiding behind.
We do this because our war is against Hamas, not against the people of Gaza.
And our actions prove this.
Since the beginning of this operation against Hamas at Shifa Hospital, the IDF has assisted the sick and wounded and helped move many of them out of harm’s way.
We brought dozens of medical devices; over 10 thousand units of medications; hundreds of medical supplies; as well as food, water, and other equipment into Shifa Hospital.
When Hamas’s attacks resulted in the failure of the hospital generator, our troops helped restore electricity to the hospital.
Our operation at Shifa Hospital proves once again: Hamas systematically uses hospitals to wage war and consistently uses the people of Gaza as human shields.
Israel showed earlier in the war that Hamas had used Shifa Hospital to store weapons, to move hostages, and to conceal underground infrastructure for the terrorist organization. Using a hospital as a military installation is a violation of international humanitarian law, and means the hospital forfeits its protected status under that law.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent book, “The Zionist Conspiracy (and how to join it),” now available on Audible. He is also the author of the e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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