Israeli army admits to deliberately targeting Gaza's Al Shifa Hospital

Israeli Army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi has admitted that an operation carried out by his forces in the Al Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City aimed to "pressure" Hamas during ongoing negotiations in Qatar to reach a hostage swap deal.

Halevi made the televised statement in the evening during an assessment of the situation with military officials from inside the Al-Shifa Medical Complex.

The Israeli army is defending its relentless onslaught on the blockaded enclave. "This [ongoing brutal assault in Gaza] is very important to pressure Hamas, very important to pressure negotiations as well," Halevi claimed.

Earlier, Scores of Palestinians were killed and injured on Wednesday in intense Israeli army shelling near the Al Shifa Medical Complex in western Gaza City as they were breaking their fast on the 10th day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The artillery bombardment resulted in widespread fires in the areas, killing and injuring dozens of Palestinians, including women and children, and forcing hundreds to flee to eastern Gaza City neighborhoods such as Tuffah, Zeitoun, Shejaiya, and Sabra, an Anadolu correspondent reported.

Israel's army claimed it had killed around 90 gunmen and arrested 160 in a raid on Al Shifa hospital, an allegation the resistance group Hamas denied.

Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of Gaza's media office, said all of those killed had been wounded patients and displaced persons inside the hospital.

"The Israeli occupation army practices lying and deception in spreading its narrative as part of justifying its continuous and law-breaking crimes, which violate international law, international humanitarian law," he said.

Israel faced fierce criticism last November when troops first raided Al Shifa hospital.

“What happens in Al Shifa Hospital is a war crime and is part of the war of genocide conducted by the Israeli occupation,” said senior Hamas official Basem Naim, who has previously served as a health minister.

Meanwhile negotiations between Israel and Hamas continue in Doha, through the mediation of Qatar, Egypt, and the US, to reach a cease-fire and a hostage swap deal, amid Israel's devastating attacks on besieged Gaza that continued for six months.

Since Monday morning, an Israeli army force has continued to raid Al Shifa medical complex, despite the presence of thousands of patients, wounded, and displaced people inside, killing dozens and detaining hundreds of Palestinians.

This is the second time Israeli forces have stormed the complex since the start of the war on Gaza on October 7, 2023. They raided it on November 16 last year after besieging it for a week and then withdrew after eight days, destroying its courtyards, parts of its buildings, and medical equipment, as well as the power generator.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on besieged Gaza since an October 7 cross-border blitz led by Hamas.

Israel has killed at least 32,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children in Gaza, and more than 74,000 are wounded amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of most food, clean water, and medicine, while at least 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to ensure its forces do not commit acts of genocide, and guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.