IDF: 180 terrorists killed in Al Shifa hospital, 500 terror suspects arrested

More than 180 terrorists have been killed in and around the Al Shifa hospital in Gaza in the past week, the Israeli army said on Monday. 

While Hamas initially denied being present at the hospital, accusing Israel of “fabricating” the story, the terror group later confirmed they were indeed clashing with soldiers in the compound.

“The scope of Israel’s offensive in Al-Shifa Hospital cannot be understated, nor the importance of the figures arrested or killed, but the forces of resistance in the Strip are dynamic organisations that don’t lean on any one man,” a Hamas source has told the Lebanese Al-Akhbar newspaper on Monday.

The operation began Monday last week and will continue in the coming days, an IDF official told Jewish News and other foreign reporters.

The official added that some 500 Hamas and Islamic Jihad affiliates have been arrested so far, with many of them providing crucial information about the terror organisations operations in Gaza.

Soldiers were met with fierce resistance inside the hospital, the official said, adding that some were barricading themselves and shooting from maternity wards and emergency rooms.

In one incident, terrorists fired mortar grenades at the hospital from the outside in order to force the soldiers to evacuate. Three Israeli soldiers have been killed in the operation at the hospital so far.

As ceasefire negations between Israel and Hamas continue, the IDF is preparing a plan to evacuate over one million Palestinians from Rafah to “humanitarian islands”, as the military is getting closer to an operation in the city where Hamas is still hiding.

The official also said that Israel is currently “flooding” Gaza with humanitarian aid – from the sea, land and air –  but that distribution remains the big problem.

Northern Gaza is “still a war zone” the official said, explaining why it’s difficult for aid to reach the area.