The Israeli army announced in a statement early Monday that it is carrying out an operation targeting the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, while witnesses in the area told AFP that they heard the sound of bombing. The army indicated in its statement that soldiers are "currently carrying out a precise operation in the Al-Shifa Hospital area", adding that "the operation is based on information indicating that the hospital is being used by senior officials of Hamas terrorists."
On the ground, eyewitnesses reported to AFP about "aerial operations" in the Rimal neighborhood where the hospital, the largest in the Gaza Strip, is located. Residents in this neighborhood stated that "more than 45 Israeli tanks and armored personnel carriers" entered Rimal. Some also mentioned "fighting" that took place around the hospital.
Eyewitnesses in Gaza City reported seeing tanks surrounding the hospital site. The media office affiliated with the Hamas government in Gaza condemned the operation, stating that "the storming of the Al-Shifa medical complex by tanks, drones, and weapons, along with gunfire inside it, is a war crime." The Israeli army is addressing residents via loudspeakers, asking them to remain in their homes.
