Israeli army hits Al-Shifa Hospital complex, leaving numerous casualties

ANKARA

The Israeli army on Friday struck Gaza's main hospital Al-Shifa, leaving numerous casualties among the many displaced Palestinians taking shelter at the hospital.

The official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that Israeli warplanes struck the outpatient building within the Al-Shifa Hospital complex.

It added that dozens of Palestinians were killed and injured in the Israeli attack, most of them children and women.

The exact number of casualties was not yet confirmed as no statement by the health authorities was made.

Palestinian journalists who were inside the hospital published horrific scenes on social media showing the attack on the hospital along with several dead and injured people, most of them children and women.

Almost all hospitals in the besieged Gaza Strip came under Israeli attacks and airstrikes in the last 24 hours, including Al-Shifa, which saw at least four rounds of Israeli airstrikes in the same period.

Attacks on civilian facilities such as hospitals are prohibited under the rules of war. Israel has claimed Hamas is taking shelter in or around Gaza hospitals, but rights groups have not able to confirm this allegation.

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip – including hospitals, residences, and houses of worship – since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas on Oct. 7.

At least 10,812 Palestinians have been killed, including 4,412 children and 2,918 women. The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, is nearly 1,600, according to official figures.