The Israeli military said it killed 180 people it described as “terrorists” in and around Gaza City’s Al-Shifa medical complex in its raid on the site, which is now in its second week.
Daniel Hagari, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson, said Monday that those killed had been “fighting,” that Israeli forces had been fired upon from the yard of the emergency and the maternity wards, and that the militants remained barricaded inside the wards.
He said “no patients, doctors, medical teams were harmed,” but some buildings had been destroyed by militants using explosives.
He also reiterated that 500 people had been detained.
CNN is unable to independently verify the numbers due to a lack of reporting access to Gaza. Due to the ongoing siege, communication with people inside Al-Shifa has been very limited.
A high-ranking IDF officer said Saturday the raid will finish “only when the last terrorist is in our hands — alive or dead.”
Yaron Finkelman said the raid, which started last Monday, “struck hundreds of terrorists, apprehended hundreds of terrorists and brought in significant operational and intelligence assets.”
Patients trapped: Gaza’s Health Ministry said patients were trapped inside “without water, or food, or medical services and the rest of the wounded and injured are in a dire situation.”
Five patients at Al-Shifa died on Saturday as a result of the Israeli raid on the facility, the ministry said.
Witnesses told CNN that hundreds of civilians, including patients and medical staff, were trapped.
