Watan-Israeli forces renewed their raid on the Al-Shifa Medical Complex west of Gaza City in the northern sector amidst heavy gunfire and the buzzing of drones.
Suddenly, Israeli tanks and military vehicles advanced under heavy gunfire cover, encircling areas west of Gaza City and besieging the Al-Shifa Medical Complex, where thousands of displaced persons, patients, and injured individuals were located. Parts of the complex were targeted with artillery shells and drones.
Several displaced persons had managed to leave the hospital before the Israeli forces stormed it and began firing inside.
الوضع مروع …مروع حرفيًا في مستشفي الشفاء ولكن لا يسعنا حاليًا
الا الدعاء للمقاومه ضد الصهاينه لايقاف الاقتحام والحفاظ علي حياه المصابين في كل الاقسام داخل المجمع الطبي https://t.co/bm74ZxNKt4 pic.twitter.com/WzeS9xNkSs— أحمدصالحAhmd Saleh (@iahmedsalih) March 18, 2024
The Israeli assault on the hospital and the firing inside resulted in the killing and injuring of several displaced persons, with the bodies of the martyrs still lying in the hospital courtyards and surrounding streets.
War crime and demands for international intervention
In a related context, the Gaza Government Media Office stated that the Israeli occupation army had stormed the Al-Shifa Medical Complex with tanks, heavily armed soldiers, and drones since the early hours of dawn.
They added that the occupation forces had opened fire inside the hospital, causing fear and panic among the injured, patients, and displaced persons, endangering the lives of thousands inside the Al-Shifa Medical Complex.
جريمة مكررة..
الجيش الصهيوني النازي يعود لاقتحام مجمع الشفاء الطبي وسط إطلاق نار كثيف وأنباء عن حريق في قسم الجراحات التخصصية في المجمع..العدو المجرم لا يتوقف عن مهاجمة المرافق الطبية وهو يحاول في كل مرة تعويض فشله العسكري عبر مهاجمة المرافق والأعيان المدنية.. pic.twitter.com/oLWzfHg6zd
— أدهم أبو سلمية 🇵🇸 Adham Abu Selmiya (@adham922) March 18, 2024
They noted that this incursion represented a war crime added to the black record of the occupation army, which continued to commit various crimes and massacres, confirming the occupation’s intention to eliminate the health sector and destroy hospitals.
The office held Israel, the U.S. administration, and the international community fully responsible for the safety and lives of medical staff, the wounded, patients, and displaced persons at Al-Shifa Hospital.
It called on international and UN organizations and all countries to “immediately intervene to curb the occupation, stop its genocide war, halt its aggression, and cease its targeting of the health sector.”
من داخل مجمع الشفاء الطبي.. مراسل التلفزيون العربي محمد عرب ينقل تفاصيل العملية العسكرية الإسرائيلية في المجمع عبر رسائل صوتية ارسلها على الواتساب pic.twitter.com/dipuNEq1xa
— التلفزيون العربي (@AlarabyTV) March 18, 2024
The Gaza Ministry of Health appealed to all international institutions to stop the ongoing Israeli massacre against patients, the wounded, displaced persons, and medical teams after the raid on the Al-Shifa Medical Complex.
It stated that a fire broke out at the gate of the Al-Shifa Medical Complex, with cases of suffocation among women and children displaced in the hospital and communication lines cut off.
The displaced persons were trapped inside the specialized surgery building and in the emergency reception in building 8.
It mentioned that several martyrs and wounded fell, with no ability to save any of the injured due to the intensity of the fires and the targeting of anyone approaching the windows.
تغطية صحفية| “ربما يكون هذا الفيديو الأخير لي”.. صحفي محاصر في مجمع الشفاء الطبي يتحدث عن اقتحام قوات الاحتلال للمشفى ومحاصرته. pic.twitter.com/AJ5xUGBNdn
— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) March 18, 2024
Israeli occupation army confirms attack
For its part, the Israeli occupation army announced the raid on the Al-Shifa Medical Complex west of Gaza City and the start of a military operation in it, despite it housing thousands of patients, wounded, and displaced persons.
The official Israeli broadcasting authority stated that the Israeli occupation army stormed the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, following intelligence information alleging its exploitation by Hamas officials.
It claimed that the forces came under fire from the medical complex and retaliated, injuring two individuals.
Second raid of its kind
This is the second time Israeli forces have stormed the Al-Shifa Medical Complex since the beginning of the war on the sector on October 7th. They first raided it on November 16th after besieging it for at least a week.
At that time, Israeli forces withdrew from the hospital on November 24th after destroying its courtyards, parts of its buildings, medical devices and equipment, in addition to the hospital’s power generator.