The Israeli military launched an assault on the Shifa hospital in the Gaza Strip, with gunfire audible from the western wing of the medical complex. The scene inside the hospital is tense as patients and staff face ongoing danger, complicating any effort to move people to safety. At the time of reporting, estimates indicated about 700 patients and 700 hospital employees were present, with thousands more seeking shelter within the building. Civilians have limited ability to leave due to continuous bombardment nearby, raising urgent concerns about medical care availability and humanitarian access.
The crisis in the Middle East worsened after militants from Hamas crossed into Israel from the Gaza Strip on 7 October. Hamas described the incursion as a response to perceived violations at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. In response, Israel announced a full blockade of Gaza and began retaliatory air and ground operations not only in Gaza but also in parts of Lebanon and Syria. Clashes were reported in the West Bank as well.
In subsequent reports, Hamas described the operation as Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, while Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, stated that Israel was at war. The stated objective of Israel’s response, termed Operation Iron Sword, was to repel the attack, secure the release of more than 200 hostages including foreign nationals, and dismantle the Hamas leadership. From the outset of the conflict, Israel launched extensive rocket attacks on Gaza and, in parallel, the National Security Council moved to restrict water, food, electricity, fuel, and other essentials to the Gaza Strip. Humanitarian aid began moving through the Rafah crossing only after 20 October, though aid flows were reported as insufficient for the needs on the ground.
On 27 October there were announcements from Israeli authorities about an expansion of the ground operation in Gaza. The exact start date of the ground offensive remained unclear for some time, but by late autumn hundreds of thousands of Palestinians had fled their homes and taken shelter in safer areas to the south. Within Gaza City, alledgedly surrounded by Israeli forces by 5 November, supplies were interrupted, yet pockets of resistance continued in central Gaza.
Former Israeli President Isaac Herzog stated that Hamas had positioned its command center beneath a central hospital in the Gaza Strip, a claim reported as part of the broader assessment of the conflict’s military landscape.