JERUSALEM: Israel’s military said on Saturday it had ended its raid on “a Hamas command centre” in a north Gaza hospital and detained its director as a suspected Hamas operative.
Since October 6, Israeli operations in the Palestinian territory have concentrated on the north, where they are carrying out a land and air offensive they say aims to prevent Hamas from regrouping.
As part of its offensive, the military launched a blistering raid early Friday on northern Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital, which had been one of the area’s two remaining functional medical facilities.
“The IDF (military) and ISA (security agency) completed a targeted operation against a Hamas command centre in the Kamal Adwan Hospital… the forces apprehended over 240 terrorists in the area,” the military said in a statement.
It added that the hospital’s director, Hossam Abu Safiyeh, suspected of “being a Hamas terrorist operative”, had been detained for questioning.
Israeli forces raid north Gaza hospital, health ministry says contact with staff lost
The military said the hospital was being used by “terrorists… for military operations in Jabalia”.
“At the beginning of the targeted operation, the 401st Brigade encircled the Kamal Adwan Hospital and apprehended terrorists who were hiding in the area and eliminated additional terrorists,” the military said.
Israeli special forces then conducted “precise activities” inside the hospital and located and confiscated weapons including grenades, guns, munitions and military equipment, it said.
During the raid, next to the hospital, “terrorists fired anti-tank missiles and RPGs (rocket-propelled-grenades) at the troops and attempted to carry out additional attacks against the troops”, it said, adding that troops “eliminated the terrorists”.
The military said that during the operation, “over 240 Hamas and terrorists and other operatives suspected of terror activities were apprehended, some of whom attempted to pose as patients or flee using ambulances”.
Apart from detaining Abu Safiyeh “who is suspected of being a Hamas terrorist operative”, the military said it also detained “Hamas engineering and anti-tank missile operatives and approximately 15 terrorists who infiltrated Israel during the October 7th massacre”.
Before launching the raid, the military said it helped to evacuate 350 patients, caregivers and medical staff from the hospital.
It said that during the operation, an additional 95 patients, caregivers, and medical personnel were evacuated to the Indonesian Hospital in coordination with local health officials.
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