Several killed as Israeli air strike hits hospital
Witness says he counted five dead
AN Israeli air strike hit Gaza’s largest hospital, killing and wounding several people, witnesses said. Al Jazeera television aired footage appearing to show the aftermath of the strike on Shifa Hospital, in Gaza City, with several people sprawled lifeless on the ground inside the medical compound, which includes a number of buildings.
Two people sheltering at the hospital confirmed the strike to the Associated Press.
Assad Abu Radwan, who saw the strike, counted five dead and said he helped two wounded people take cover inside. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
Shifa was the scene of a prolonged standoff earlier in the war when Israel accused Hamas of concealing a major command centre inside and under the medical compound, allegations denied by hospital staff and the militant group.
After raiding Shifa last month, Israel revealed what it said was a militant hideout in a tunnel under the hospital and other evidence that it said proved Hamas had used the facility.
Fighting outside Shifa had left hundreds of patients and tens of thousands of displaced people stranded for days with little food, water or medical supplies. Most evacuated the hospital, which had all but stopped functioning, as Israeli forces closed in. But in the weeks since the raid the hospital has become a shelter once again.
The World Health Organisation (WHO), which is working to restore services at Shifa and was able to visit on Friday, described its emergency department as a “bloodbath”.
It said there were hundreds of wounded patients, some being sutured on the floor with little or no pain relief. The WHO said tens of thousands of people are sheltering in the medical compound despite severe shortages of food and water.
US defence secretary Lloyd Austin discussed with Israeli leaders ways to scale back major combat operations in Gaza, but said Washington was not imposing a timetable despite international calls for a ceasefire.
Austin and other US officials have repeatedly expressed concern about the large number of civilian deaths in Gaza, even while underscoring American backing for Israel’s campaign aimed at crushing Hamas.
Neither side elaborated on Monday on what needed to change on the ground for a shift to more precise operations, after weeks of devastating bombardment and a ground offensive. At a press conference alongside Israeli defence minister
Yoav Gallant, Austin said: “This is Israel’s operation. I’m not here to dictate timelines or terms.”
The US has vetoed ceasefire calls at the UN and sent munitions to Israel.
Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israel will keep fighting until it ends Hamas rule in Gaza, crushes its formidable military capabilities and frees the dozens of hostages still held in Gaza since the deadly October 7 attack that ignited the war.
Israeli protesters have demanded
the government relaunch talks with Hamas on releasing more hostages after three were mistakenly killed by Israeli troops.
Talks were under way on Monday to broker freedom for more hostages, as CIA director William Burns met the head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency in Warsaw and the prime minister of Qatar, a US official said.
It was the first known meeting of the three since the end of a week-long ceasefire in late November.