1 of 5 | Smoke rises from airstrikes on the northern part of the Gaza Strip, as seen from Sderot, Israel, on Friday. Photo by Neil Hall/EPA-EFE
Gaza’s Hamas-controlled health ministry said Friday that Israel bombed four hospitals, including the enclave’s main Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, injuring several people.
One missile landed in a yard at the hospital, where thousands of Gazan civilians were seeking refuge from Israel’s bombardment of the strip, according to health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra. Advertisement
“Israel is now undertaking these dangerous steps against the hospitals to put them completely out of commission and subsequently displace the people sheltering in them, as well as the patients and medics,” he told Al Jazeera.
Israel’s military, which has previously said there was a key Hamas command center beneath the hospital, confirmed its forces were operating close by.
In an earlier statement, Israel Defense Forces said infantry and special forces backed up with air support had raided what it described as Hamas’ “military quarters,” in an area adjacent to the hospital. Advertisement
“The infantry, armor and engineering forces of the 162nd Division, with IAF air support and the assistance of special forces, raided the military quarter of the Hamas terrorist organization in the heart of Gaza City, near the Shifa Hospital,” the IDF said in a post on Telegram.
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken articulated his strongest criticism so far of the level of casualties in Gaza, which he said was far too high and demanded that more be done to minimize harm to civilians.
“Far too many Palestinians have been killed. Far too many have suffered these past weeks,” Blinken told reporters in India, where he is meeting with officials in New Delhi.
“We want to do everything possible to prevent harm to them and to maximize the assistance that gets to them. To that end, we’ll be continuing to discuss with Israel the concrete steps to be taken to advance these objectives.”
Blinken welcomed a series of pauses in the IDF’s military offensive in recent days to allow Palestinian civilians to flee to the south of the Gaza Strip, away from the north, where the majority of the bombardment and ground fighting is taking place. Advertisement
Israel’s military said Friday it had reopened a corridor for people to move south via the Salah al-Din Road for the sixth straight day, this time for an additional two hours. People have from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. to make the journey.
“Do not listen to what some Hamas leaders say from their hotels abroad or from the places they have arranged for themselves and their family members underground. For your safety, take advantage of the next time to move south beyond Wadi Gaza,” IDF spokesman Avichay Adraee wrote on X.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged late Thursday in an interview with Fox News that the country’s military objectives in Gaza were taking longer than expected but remained resolute in the face of growing international pressure for a cease-fire, saying it would amount to surrendering. He reiterated there could be no negotiations until the more than 200 hostages being held by Hamas were freed.
“A cease-fire with Hamas means surrender to Hamas, surrender to terror and the victory of the Iran’s axis of terror, so there won’t be a cease-fire without the release of Israeli hostages,” Netanyahu said. Advertisement
