Israeli troops vacate Al-Shifa hospital following a 2-week standoff

Israeli military forces have pulled out from Al-Shifa, Gaza's biggest hospital, following a 14-day siege. Witnesses and Gazan authorities reported that the medical facility was heavily damaged during the attack.

Mahmoud Bassal, a spokesperson for Gaza's Civil Defense, described the situation as "very bad" on Monday. According to him, Al-Shifa has been "completely destroyed and burned down," with many of its buildings left in ruins or badly charred.

He mentioned that the hospital grounds are filled with injured and deceased individuals. Additionally, there are bodies buried in the hospital yards.

Pictures from the region displayed extensive damage, including burnt and damaged buildings throughout the complex.

More than 30 wounded people were transported from Al-Shifa to the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital east of Gaza City, Bassal said.

Smoke rises during an Israeli raid at Al Shifa hospital and the area around it, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Gaza City, March 21, 2024. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas

Smoke can be seen rising during an Israeli raid at Al Shifa hospital and the surrounding area in Gaza City. This occurred during the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas on March 21, 2024. The photo was taken by Dawoud Abu Alkas for Reuters.

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Why Israeli forces are raiding Gaza’s Al-Shifa hospital – again

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced their withdrawal in a statement on Monday, stating that they had finished their specific operations in the area.

According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, around 3,000 individuals were present at Al-Shifa when the IDF initiated their raid on March 18. Reports indicated that those trying to leave were being attacked by snipers and fired upon by helicopters. Hamas had previously accused Israel of targeting locations without considering the safety of patients and medical staff, a sentiment shared by those within the complex.

Hamada Abdelhadi, a displaced Palestinian man seeking shelter at Al-Shifa, reported that military vehicles are shooting at the hospital windows and anyone moving in the hallways in March, according to CNN.

While targeting hospitals during wartime is against international law, the rules can change if the enemy is using the facility to launch attacks.

The IDF reported that during the raid, their soldiers engaged in close-quarters combat with terrorists, found weapons and intelligence documents in the hospital, and ensured the safety of civilians, patients, and medical staff.

Additionally, the IDF stated that civilians, patients, and medical teams were evacuated during the operation. However, Palestinians in and around Al-Shifa claimed that civilians were injured and arrested. Eyewitnesses mentioned that Israeli troops detained medical personnel and other civilians.

Israel has long accused Hamas fighters of hiding in mosques, hospitals, and other civilian areas to evade Israeli airstrikes. Hamas, however, has consistently refuted these allegations.

"It's like something out of a horror movie," remarked a local resident.

Khader Al Za’anoun, a journalist from CNN, described the aftermath at Al-Shifa after the IDF left as resembling a horror movie. He mentioned how bulldozers were seen running over bodies in and around the hospital premises.

After the evacuation, individuals started coming to the damaged area to look for their loved ones who were unaccounted for. He mentioned that they discovered complete families deceased, with their bodies decomposing in buildings near the hospital.

Smoke billows after Israeli bombardment near Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on March 23, 2024.

Smoke billows after Israeli bombardment near Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on March 23, 2024.

AFP/Getty Images/File

Many of the people still living in the complex are suffering from malnutrition. According to Al Za’anoun, some survivors have mentioned that they had to share just one bottle of water among six people every day.

Last week, residents living near Al-Shifa reported hearing intense gunfire in the area. One family shared that their house was bombed, resulting in children being trapped under the debris, with some managing to survive.

The second raid at the hospital was carried out by the IDF, following their first raid at Al-Shifa in November. By January, the IDF announced that they had successfully dismantled Hamas' command structure in northern Gaza.

Israel’s closest ally, the United States, has consistently supported Israeli claims that Hamas and other Gaza militants utilized Al-Shifa’s medical complex for commanding operations, holding hostages, and storing weapons.

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan commented on the attack on Al-Shifa on March 18, stating that "Hamas returned to Shifa" after Israel had removed the militant group from the hospital.

Palestinian residents in Gaza City were forced to leave the area with only a few belongings as Israeli army forces surrounded the Al-Shifa hospital with tanks and heavy gunfire on March 18, 2024.

Dawoud Abo Alkas/Anadolu/Getty Images

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Eyewitnesses reported that Israeli military personnel made journalists and health workers strip during a raid at a Gaza hospital.

International organizations have criticized the siege, with the Director General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, stating in March that hospitals should not be targeted in conflicts.

WHO and other humanitarian groups had been warning about an impending famine in northern Gaza. By late March, a UN-backed report revealed that 70% of the population was facing catastrophic levels of hunger.

The situation in Gaza is dire, with all 2.2 million people lacking enough food to eat. Half of the population is on the verge of starvation, and the north is expected to experience famine between mid-March and May 2024, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC).

Khader Al Za’anoun of Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency, contributed reporting.

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