Israel carries out new round of strikes in Gaza
Israeli forces stormed the main hospital in southern Gaza on Thursday, hours after Israeli fire killed a patient and wounded six others inside the complex.
Israeli forces storm Gaza hospital
Israeli forces stormed the main hospital in southern Gaza on Thursday, hours after Israeli fire killed a patient and wounded six others inside the complex. The raid on Nasser Hospital came after troops had besieged the facility for nearly a week, with hundreds of staff, patients and others inside struggling under heavy fire and dwindling supplies, including food and water. A day earlier, the army ordered thousands of displaced people who had taken shelter there to leave the hospital in the city of Khan Younis, the focus of Israel’s offensive against Hamas in recent weeks.
No end in sight to the war
The war shows no sign of ending, and the risk of a broader conflict grew as Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group stepped up attacks after a particularly deadly exchange on Wednesday. The military said it had 'credible intelligence' that Hamas had held hostages at Nasser Hospital and that the hostages' remains might still be inside. Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the chief military spokesperson, said forces were conducting a 'precise and limited' operation there and would not forcibly evacuate medics or patients. Israel accuses Hamas of using hospitals and other civilian structures to shield its fighters.
Scenes of panic in hospital
Nasser Hospital has been the latest focus of Israeli military operations that have gutted Gaza's health sector as it struggles to treat a constant stream of people wounded in daily bombardments. Israeli troops, tanks and snipers have surrounded the hospital for at least a week, and fire from outside has recently killed several people inside, according to health officials. The international aid group Doctors Without Borders, also known by its French language acronym MSF, said its staff had to flee the hospital on Thursday, leaving patients behind, and that one staffer was detained at an Israeli checkpoint just outside the facility.
No end in sight to the war
The war began when Hamas militants on Oct. 7 burst out of Gaza and attacked several Israeli communities, killing some 1,200 people and taking another 250 hostage. Around 130 captives remain in Gaza, a fourth of whom are believed to be dead. Netanyahu has come under intense pressure from hostages' families and the wider public to make a deal to secure their freedom, but his far-right coalition partners could bring down his government if he is seen as being too soft on Hamas. Israel responded to the Hamas attack with one of the deadliest and most destructive military campaigns in recent history.
