NEW DELHI: The Israel defence forces on Sunday besieged two hospitals in Gaza by pinning down medical teams under heavy gunfire.
Israeli armored forces sealed off Al-Amal hospital and carried out extensive bulldozing operations in its vicinity, the Red Crescent said in a statement.
All of our teams are in extreme danger at the moment and are completely immobilised, the statement further said.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said one of its staff was killed when Israeli tanks suddenly pushed back into areas around Al-Amal and Nasser hospitals in the southern city of Khan Younis, amid heavy bombardment and gunfire.
It said Israeli forces were now demanding the complete evacuation of staff, patients and displaced people from Al Amal’s premises and were firing smoke bombs into the area to force out its occupants.
Denying allegations of using hospitals for military ends, Hamas accused Israel of war crimes against civilian targets.
The Israeli military said its forces were hitting infrastructure in Khan Younis used as gathering points for many militants. The IDF further said that the hospitals in the Palestinian enclaves have frequently been used as strongholds of Hamas militants harbouring bases and weapons.
Israel in a statement also said it had captured 480 militants in continued clashes at Gaza’s main Al Shifa hospital.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said dozens of patients and medical staffers had been detained by Israeli forces at Al Shifa in Gaza City in the enclave’s north that has been under Israeli control for a week.
At least 32,226 Palestinians have been killed, among them 84 in the past 24 hours, and 74,518 injured in Israel’s air and ground offensive into the densely populated coastal territory since Oct. 7, its health ministry said in an update.
Hamas wants any truce deal to include an Israeli commitment to end the war and withdraw forces from Gaza. Israel has ruled this out, saying it will keep fighting until Hamas is eradicated as a political and military force.
