The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) delivered critical medical supplies to the main hospital in Gaza on Wednesday after Israeli special forces raided the hospital to hunt down the Hamas terrorists hiding there.
Israeli forces killed at least five terrorists in the “precise and targeted” limited operation at the Shifa Hospital. No IDF soldiers were hurt, and there was reportedly little to no friction between the IDF and hospital staff and patients.
“We can confirm that incubators, baby food and medical supplies brought by IDF tanks from Israel have successfully reached the Shifa hospital,” the IDF said in a statement. “Our medical teams and Arabic speaking soldiers are on the ground to ensure that these supplies reach those in need.”
IDF releases footage of troops bringing humanitarian aid to Shifa Hospital. pic.twitter.com/qFlVdvlmuZ
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) November 15, 2023
The IDF later said that its forces were continuing to search for explosives, weapons, and Hamas’ infrastructure “in a specified area” of the vast hospital complex.
Hamas has a large underground tunnel system built under and around the hospital, which is a blatant war crime.
סריקות אחר מטעני נפץ ותשתיות טרור נוספות במקביל לסיוע הומנטירי; הכוחות ממשיכים בפעילות ממוקדת ביה״ח שיפאא':
כוחות צה״ל ממשיכים לפעול באופן ממוקד בחלק ממרחב ביה״ח שיפאא' בו הם סורקים אחר תשתיות ואמצעי טרור של חמאס. כמו כן, הכוחות מסרו ציוד הומניטרי והניחו אותו בכניסה לבית החולים pic.twitter.com/W7remVDPBL
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) November 15, 2023
The raid came after the IDF ordered Hamas to surrender from inside the hospital and they failed to comply.
“In recent weeks, the IDF has publicly warned time and again that Hamas’ continued military use of the Shifa hospital jeopardizes its protected status under international law, and enabled ample time to stop this unlawful abuse of the hospital,” the IDF said. “Yesterday, the IDF conveyed to the relevant authorities in Gaza once again that all military activities within the hospital must cease within 12 hours. Unfortunately, they did not.”
A video clip from Qatari propaganda outlet Al Jazeera showed a man inside one of the hospitals inside Gaza slamming Hamas for using them as human shields.
“Regarding the resistance forces that hide among people, why do they do hide among people?” the man said to the camera crew. “Let them go hide in hell!”
The camera crew quickly cut the man off.
Hamas hides in hospitals, intentionally endangering innocent civilians.
״Regarding the resistance forces that hide among people, why do they do hide among people?
Let them go hide in hell!״
Watch: pic.twitter.com/ZvCGDPLs3m
— Israel ישראל 🇮🇱 (@Israel) November 15, 2023
The Wall Street Journal reported this week that sophisticated military command centers that Israel has set up near the Gaza border have given it an insurmountable technological and information advantage over Hamas as it is able to pull data from thousands of sources — including drones, planes, tanks, soldiers, ships, and more — in real time as it maps out the battle field inside the Strip.
The abilities that the command center has have allowed Israel to maximize the precision of its strikes. The Journal noted one video that they were shown featured an evacuation from a hospital when several terrorists sought to escape by intermingling with non-combatants. The order was given to let them go so that innocents would not be hurt, however, the terrorists were continually tracked and were later terminated by Israeli forces when they no longer were in an area with civilians.
The center also features munitions experts who direct the military on which weapons need to be used to execute specific actions taken against designated targets.