Israel withdraws troop from Shifa Hospital after 2-week raid

Tel Aviv: The Israel Defence Forces confirmed on Monday that they wrapped up their operation against Hamas terrorists at Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital overnight, with all the troops leaving the area, reported The Times of Israel.

During the raid, the IDF said that the troops captured some 900 suspects, and killed more than 200 gunmen.

Among those killed and detained were top commanders in Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), reported The Times of Israel.

Meanwhile, in central Gaza, the IDF said that an attack helicopter carried out a strike on a building used by Hamas and another building that was booby-trapped and had been used by Hamas operatives to observe troops.

In other airstrikes in Gaza, the IDF said it killed terror operatives who were an “immediate threat” to ground troops, including a sniper.

They further said that the troops of the Commando Brigade and Givati Brigade are continuing to battle Hamas in the al-Amal neighbourhood in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, The Times of Israel reported.

Amid the operation in al-Amal, troops killed numerous gunmen in close-quarters combat, detained terror suspects, and located weapons over the past day, the IDF said.

In another area of Khan Younis, the IDF said that the seventh Armoured Brigade and Israeli Air Force struck several Hamas targets, including a truck driving towards the troops and another car with operatives inside, which were perceived as threats.

The eyewitnesses described scenes of destruction as they returned to the area surrounding Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital after the IDF withdrew troops at the conclusion of a two-week raid on terror groups using the medical complex as a command centre.

Last week, IDF Spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Hamas was “destroying Shifa Hospital” as the military operated against the terror group at the medical centre, the largest in the Gaza Strip.

Mohammed Mahdi, who was among those who returned, describes a scene of “total destruction.”

He said that several buildings had been burned down and that he saw a number of bodies.

Last week, Hagari said that Hamas was firing at troops from inside the Shifa Emergency Room and Maternity Ward and throwing explosive devices from the Shifa Burn Ward.