Conflict reports from Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza
On Thursday, the Israeli army confirmed that its military operation at the Al Shifa hospital in the northern Gaza Strip continues for an eleventh day. The military asserts it has killed about 200 militants during this period, while a humanitarian group accuses the forces of extrajudicial executions of children.
“Around 200 terrorists have been eliminated around what is now the hospital area since the operation began,” the army said on Thursday. The statement also notes ongoing strikes in the Al Amal area, home to another major hospital in Jan Yunis in the southern sector, which is currently nonfunctional.
According to a military briefing, militants attacked Israeli troops from inside and outside the hospital emergency department as civilians, patients and medical staff were evacuated to other facilities.
Earlier in the week, the Euromed Monitor for Human Rights, a Geneva-based NGO, alleged that thirteen children aged between 4 and 16 were killed by direct fire near the Shifa complex and its surroundings in what it calls a war crime.
“For more than a week, the army has been carrying out systematic and horrific military operations inside and around the hospital,” the NGO stated in a release. “These crimes include extrajudicial executions and deliberate killings of Palestinian civilians.”
The adjacent residential neighborhood around the hospital has been described as nearly unrecognizable after heavy damage, according to a report from a leading Qatari broadcaster. The description points to a coordinated effort to clear the area of civilians and structures.
Earlier this week, the United Nations Security Council approved, for the first time, a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire during Ramadan, followed by a durable halt to fighting. The ceasefire remains distant from implementation as fighting continues.
Reporter without Borders reported the disappearance of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan, one of the detainees during the Al Shifa siege. The organization has called on the Israeli military to provide explanations about her whereabouts.
Across both the center and southern Gaza Strip, including the Al Amal area, the army confirmed the deaths of dozens of militants during raids and the seizure of weapons, explosive devices and mortar rounds. In the broader area, Israeli aviation targeted tunnels and underground launch sites in strikes linked to the ongoing conflict.
As the Gaza war enters its sixth month, casualty figures have surpassed 32,500, with women and children representing a large share. More than 80 percent of residents have been displaced, living under severe shortages of food and water, largely due to restrictions on most border crossings and land routes for aid and supplies.