Israel raids hospital in ‘hostage search’
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ISRAELI troops searching for hostages yesterday stormed a hospital in southern Gaza, killing a patient and wounding six others.
The bloody assault came as all-out war between Israel and heavily-armed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon loomed.
Israeli troops said they had credible intelligence Hamas had held hostages at Nasser Hospital in the besieged city of Khan Yunis and that the remains of hostages might be there.
Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari insisted IDF forces were conducting a “precise and limited” operation and would not forcibly move medics or patients.
But the raid came a day after the army tried to evacuate thousands of displaced people taking shelter at the hospital.
Gaza’s Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-qidra said that Israel had launched a “massive incursion” with heavy shooting that wounded displaced people still sheltering there. Dr Khaled Alserr, one of the remaining surgeons at Nasser Hospital, told reporters the seven patients hit were already being treated for past wounds.
He added: “The situation is escalating every hour and every minute.
“Many cannot evacuate, such as those with lower limb amputations, severe burns , or the elderly.”
A hostage freed last month has revealed she and over two dozen other captives had been held in the hospital. International law prohibits the targeting of medical facilities, but they can lose those protections if they are used for military purposes.
Separately, Israel launched airstrikes in southern Lebanon for a second day after killing 10 civilians and three Hezbollah fighters on Wednesday.
That was in response to a rocket attack that killed an Israeli soldier and wounded several others. It was the deadliest exchange of fire along Israel’s northern border since Israel began its massive assault on Gaza.
Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the offensive until Hamas, which controls Gaza, is destroyed and hostages are returned.
The war began when Hamas militants burst through Israel’s defences on October 7 and killed some 1,200 people.
They also took 250 hostages although more than 100 were freed last year in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners.
Around 130 captives remain in Gaza. Many are now thought to be dead.
Israel responded to the October attack with one of the most destructive military campaigns in recent history.
At least 28,663 Palestinians have been killed since the war began, mostly women and children, and 68,000 have been wounded.
The situation is escalating every hour and every minute. Many can’t evacuate DR KHALED ALSERR
SURGEON AT NASSER HOSPITAL