The IDF operation at Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza over the last week has been one of the “single largest” since Israel’s war against Hamas began in early October of last year, ABC reported on Monday, citing IDF sources.
The IDF launched a reinvasion of Shifa Hospital in the early morning of Monday last week. During the initial operation, Hamas Interior Ministry Operations Chief Faack Mabhouh was among those killed.
Since then, over 170 terrorists have been killed, and around 500 terrorists associated with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) have been arrested, according to the IDF.
Gaza sources confirm IDF reports
According to the ABC report, anonymous sources in Gaza confirmed that it is thought that numerous Hamas and PIJ, including senior leadership, had returned to the hospital having believed the Israeli military had concluded its activities there.
On Sunday, KAN reported that another two senior Hamas officials, Hisham Tzarzur and Diab Tatarhad, had been detained at the hospital.
In addition to terrorists, the IDF has reported finding weaponry hidden at the hospital. On Monday, a Shayetet 13 special forces commander said Israeli forces had found weapons hidden among medical supplies, patients, and visitors during an overnight raid of the hospital.
Sheyetet 13 was involved in the initial raid of the hospital one week earlier.