The IDF has sealed off the Adwan Hospital in Jabaliya on Tuesday, in an unusual move and amid international criticism after concluding its military operation there over the weekend. In previous instances when Israeli forces raided hospitals in the Gaza Strip, operations were allowed to resume and in the Al Shifa Hospital, Hamas recently carried out extensive renovations.
People speaking on coms as hospital is evacuated
(Video: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
IDF evacuated hundreds of patients and staff from the large medical facility to the Indonesian Hospital, also located in northern Gaza. "The hospital had become a Hamas terror base. We precisely and carefully evacuated about 600 civilians while thoroughly screening for militants," said an IDF spokesperson following the takeover of the site last weekend. "Combat soldiers from the 401st Brigade, operating under the 162nd Brigade and Unit 504, completed a focused counterterrorism operation at Kamal Adwan Hospital, arresting more than 240 militants, eliminated 20, and neutralized powerful explosives planted at the site."
The forces conducting the operation launched a swift and covert raid, surrounding the building located in the heart of the camp in less than an hour. As expected, the operation drew sharp international criticism, with major global newspapers and news outlets extensively covering the event.
For example, the BBC headline read: "Israel forcefully evacuates Gaza Hospital and arrests medical staff." The report emphasized that the hospital director, Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, was arrested by Israel on suspicion of being a Hamas operative, "without providing evidence" against him. The British broadcaster also cited the Hamas-run Palestinian Ministry of Health regarding the number of fatalities in the hospital area as of Friday: "50 people, including hospital staff, were killed in airstrikes."
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Global press attacks Israel as photos circulate
(Photo:: IDF Spokesperson's Unit, Photo: CNN, BBC, The New York Times)
The New York Times reported under the headline: "IDF forces patients and medical staff to leave hospital in Northern Gaza." A nurse working at the hospital told the American newspaper that Israeli soldiers instructed female staff and patients to leave the hospital, without immediately giving the same order to the men.
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Al-Shifa Medical Center, Gaza's main hospital, which was recently renovated, underwent the most extensive raid during the war. In its vicinity, more than 200 militants were killed, and hundreds more were arrested. In September, five months after Israeli forces left the hospital, the emergency department at the medical center reopened, where hostages had been held and even murdered. The hospital is currently operating partially.
Buildings at al-Shifa Hospital were used as emergency assets for the operations headquarters of Hamas' Gaza City Brigade. Additionally, during the fighting, weapons and other equipment were moved to the hospital's underground floors. As part of the IDF's activities in the hospital area, numerous weapons were discovered in the MRI building within the hospital complex, as well as an operational tunnel shaft next to a weapons-laden pickup truck. Furthermore, in the cardiology department, a weapons storage room, ammunition, and an interrogation room were found. In the physiotherapy department, explosive devices were discovered, and in the Qatari building, another explosive device and communication equipment were found.