Israeli troops entered the Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City in the
early hours of Monday morning and have been combing through the
sprawling complex, which the military says is connected to a
tunnel network used as a base for Palestinian fighters.
It says troops have killed hundreds of fighters and detained
over 500 suspects, including 358 members of the Islamist
militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the largest number
since the beginning of the war nearly six months ago.
Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, Israel's main military spokesperson,
said special forces units had used "deception tactics" to
surprise the fighters and had severely damaged Hamas and Islamic
Jihad.
Among the detainees were three senior Islamic Jihad military
commanders and two Hamas officials responsible for operations in
the occupied West Bank as well as other Hamas internal security
officials.
"Those who did not surrender to our forces fought against our
forces and were eliminated," Hagari told a briefing late on
Thursday.
There was no immediate comment from Hamas or Islamic Jihad.
Al Shifa, the Gaza Strip's biggest hospital before the war, is
now one of the few healthcare facilities even partially
operational in the north of the territory, and had also been
housing displaced civilians.
Israel faced heavy criticism last November when troops first
raided the hospital. The troops uncovered tunnels there, which
they said had been used as command and control centers by Hamas.
Hamas and medical staff deny that the hospital is used for
military purposes or to shelter fighters.
In recent days, Hamas spokespeople have said that the dead
announced in previous Israeli statements were not fighters but
patients and displaced people and have accused Israel of war
crimes.
Reuters has been unable to access the hospital and verify either
account.
(Reporting by James Mackenzie; Editing by Mark Potter)
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