5:43 a.m. ET, November 15, 2023
What we know so far about Israel’s raid on Al-Shifa Hospital
From CNN’s Sophie Tanno Al-Shifa Hospital and surrounding areas in Gaza on November 7. Maxar Technologies/AP/File Israel said its military launched a “targeted” operation against Hamas early Wednesday morning at Gaza’s largest hospital, Al-Shifa, after accusing the terrorist group of using the medical center as a command base . Conditions at the hospital have deteriorated rapidly in recent days due to heavy fighting, and doctors warned of a “catastrophic” situation for patients, staff and displaced people still in the hospital.
Here’s what we know so far:
The attack: Israeli forces said they had launched “a precise and targeted operation” against Hamas in Al-Shifa as fighting continued.
Israeli tanks and military vehicles were “in the courtyard of Al-Shifa Hospital,” Khader Al Za’anoun, a reporter for the Palestinian news agency Wafa, told CNN.
A doctor in Al-Shifa told CNN they were warned 30 minutes before the Israeli operation began.
“We were asked to stay away from windows and balconies. “We can hear the armored vehicles, they are very close to the entrance to the complex,” said Dr. Khaled Abu Samra.
Why is Israel doing this? Israel has accused Hamas of using Al-Shifa Hospital as a command and control base.
Hospitals are protected under international humanitarian law in times of war, but Israel said in a statement that Hamas’s “continued military use of Shifa Hospital endangers its protected status.”
The United States on Tuesday cited intelligence reports that Hamas had a command node beneath the hospital, appearing to support Israel’s claim.
The Pentagon said the U.S. recently declassified intelligence that it said showed Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad were using hospitals – including Al-Shifa – to “hide and support their military operations and hold hostages.”
CNN cannot independently verify US or Israeli claims.
According to the IDF, no hostages have been found in Al-Shifa so far. One of Israel’s goals in the conflict is to rescue the more than 200 people held captive by Hamas.
What do Palestinian officials say: The Palestinian Minister of Health Dr. Mai Al-Kaila said the Israeli army’s raid represented “a new crime against humanity, medical staff and patients” and could have “catastrophic consequences” for patients and medical staff.
Its health ministry is based in Ramallah and is under the control of the Palestinian Authority (PA) – and is separate from the Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza.
A Hamas statement blamed both Israel and the United States for the Israeli army’s attack on the hospital. By supporting what they called Israel’s “false narrative” – that Hamas was using al-Shifa as a command and control base – the US had given Israel “the green light to commit further massacres of civilians.”
Humanitarian situation: Doctors and journalists have described the dire conditions in Al-Shifa, including desperate efforts to keep premature babies alive and limited procedures carried out by candlelight.
Journalist Al Za’anoun said that people in the hospital “are starving, there is no food or drinking water, we barely get tap water for an hour a day.”
He said dozens of bodies will be buried in a mass grave in the courtyard of the hospital complex as relatives cannot leave the hospital to bury their loved ones.
“The scene is terrible, the smell of the dead is unbearable, most of the bodies are women and children,” Al Za’anoun told CNN.
Thousands of Palestinians are believed to be seeking refuge in and around Al-Shifa to escape the Israeli air and ground offensive.