Good morning. After a 14-day siege, Israel’s military has said it has withdrawn from al-Shifa hospital in Gaza. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have described the raid as a success and claim to have obtained intelligence and killed or detained hundreds of Hamas fighters, including a high-ranking Hamas leader. Israeli forces have long contended that Hamas fighters were using the hospital as a base, though the militant group has denied these allegations.
While the IDF has said that it was conducting “precise operational activity”, witnesses said that Gaza City’s main hospital has mostly been destroyed and the Gaza health ministry has said the hospital is now “completely out of service”. The UN health agency has said that several hospital patients had died and dozens were put at risk. Video footage shows residents walking near the charred and damaged building. At least 300 bodies have been found so far according to Gaza’s civil defense agency, though it will be difficult to determine the full count due to the destruction of the surrounding neighbourhood by Israeli bulldozers.
