If you stay informed by reading the news daily, you’ll know about the latest developments in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.
On Monday (13 November 2023), Israeli tanks were stationed outside the gates of Al-Shifa Hospital.
For those unfamiliar with the hospital, it serves as the main medical facility in the Gaza Strip, where hundreds of patients are still waiting to be evacuated from the devastation caused by the ongoing conflict.
So, what led to this situation?
Israel positioned tanks outside the Gaza hospital in retaliation after discovering weapons in medical facilities and other areas.
Israel Positioned Tanks Outside Al-Shifa Hospital
Israel has accused Hamas of using hospitals and other civilian infrastructure as hiding places for command centres and weapons, as reported by TODAY.
Hamas, along with hospital authorities in Gaza, has denied these allegations.
On Monday (13 November 2023), the Israeli military released video and photographs claiming that they showed weapons stored by Hamas in the basement of a children’s hospital in Gaza, where they also said that hostages were being held.
Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, a military spokesperson, said that troops had discovered a command centre housing an arsenal of weapons.
Among these weapons were grenades, suicide vests, and other explosives that Hamas fighters had reportedly stored in the basement of Rantissi Hospital.
Rantissi Hospital is a paediatric facility specialising in the treatment of cancer patients.
The Israeli military is currently investigating suspicions of Hamas holding hostages in the area.
Hagari also presented footage that depicted what appeared to be basic living quarters, including a small kitchen and a nearby tunnel shaft that, according to their claims, led to the residence of a senior Hamas naval commander.
Al-Shifa Hospital Reports Patient Losses
Speaking to Reuters, Ashraf Al-Qidra, a spokesperson for the Gaza health ministry who was inside Al-Shifa hospital, said that 32 patients, including three newborn babies, died in the past three days due to the hospital’s siege in northern Gaza and a severe shortage of electricity.
At least 650 patients remain inside the hospital, desperately in need of evacuation to another medical facility.
Israeli troops discovered a motorcycle with gunshot marks, which, according to their statements, seemed to have been used to transport hostages into Gaza following the surprise attack on 7 October 2023.
The conflict between Israel and Hamas is deeply rooted in the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
According to Reuters, Hamas has expressed readiness to release up to 70 women and children who were held in Gaza in exchange for a five-day truce in the conflict that was triggered by Hamas’s incursion into southern Israel on 7 October 2023.
The Palestinian death toll in Gaza has tragically risen to over 11,200 individuals killed in Israeli attacks since 7 October 2023. In Israel, the official death toll from Hamas’s attacks stands at over 1,200.