Israel withdraws forces from Gaza's Al-Shifa hospital after 2-week raid
Palestinians inspect the damage at Gaza's Al-Shifa hospital after the Israeli military withdrew from the complex housing the hospital on April 1, 2024, amid the ongoing battles Israel and the Hamas militant group.
Israel's army announced on Monday it withdrew its forces from Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, concluding a two-week-long raid on the enclave's largest medical center.
The medical complex, located in the hunger-stricken northern Gaza, became a refuge for thousands of patients and displaced Palestinians, and was targeted by Israeli tanks and airstrikes. It was the second major Israeli raid on the hospital since the beginning of Israel's almost six-month-long onslaught in Gaza.
The Israel Defense Forces released a statement saying that during the raid, the troops killed militants "in close-quarters encounters, located numerous weapons and intelligence documents throughout the hospital."
According to World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, at least 21 patients have been killed in Al-Shifa since the beginning of the raid.
"Hostilities continue around the hospital," he wrote on social media platform X. At least 107 patients, including four children and 28 critical patients, were stranded inside the medical complex, lacking necessary means of care. "Many have infected wounds and are dehydrated," said Tedros.
Video footage and photographs from the hospital showed extensive damage, including burned buildings.
