GAZA STRIP, (Palestinian Territories): Israeli soldiers withdrew from Gaza’s main hospital Wednesday after raiding and combing through the facility in their war against Hamas, as the UN Security Council was set to consider a call for “humanitarian pauses”.
Both Israel and its top ally the United States said the Palestinian have a command centre below the Al-Shifa complex, a charge denied by Hamas and directors at the hospital, which has become a focal point in the 40-day-old war.
A journalist in contact with AFP, trapped inside Al-Shifa, reported that Israeli soldiers, some wearing face masks, shot in the air and ordered young men to surrender when they burst into the hospital overnight.
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About 1,000 male Palestinians, hands above their heads, were in the courtyard, some of them stripped naked by Israeli soldiers checking them for weapons or explosives, the journalist said.
By early evening Israeli troops had withdrawn from the facility, the journalist said, redeploying around the hospital.
Israel has said the raid was executed based on “an operational necessity”.
It later said troops had found “military and combat equipment” inside the compound, sharing footage which AFP was unable to independently verify of rifles, ammunition and bullet-proof vests with the insignia of Hamas’s armed wing the army claimed had been seized during the raid.
The Hamas-run health ministry said Israel “did not find any equipment or weapons” in the hospital during the raid.
“Essentially we don’t allow” weapons in any hospital, ministry director Munir al-Bursh said in a statement.
The UN Security Council, which has been unable to reach consensus on the war since its start, was set to vote later on Wednesday on a draft resolution which diplomats suggested had a good chance of being adopted.
The new text, seen by AFP, calls for “urgent and extended humanitarian pauses and corridors throughout the Gaza Strip for a sufficient number of days” in order to allow aid to reach civilians.
It also urges the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and other groups, especially children.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to destroy Hamas in response to the Palestinian group’s October 7 attacks, which officials say killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and saw about 240 hostages taken to Gaza.
The Hamas government in Gaza says Israel’s ensuing aerial bombardment and ground offensive have killed 11,500 people, also mostly civilians, including thousands of children.
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