Three Hamas senior officials were killed in face-to-face combat against IDF soldiers at Shifa Hospital on Saturday, the military said.
Israeli forces from the IDF’s 401st Brigade and Shayetet 13, under the 162nd Division’s command, have been continuing to operate in the area of the hospital to fight Hamas terrorists using the medical facility.
They have been reportedly been operating under intelligence provided by the Israeli Intelligence Directorate and Israel Securities Authority (ISA) – which revealed the presence of Hamas senior members in the hospital.
After receiving the intelligence, forces from Shayetet 13, the Duvdevan Unit, and the Nahal Brigade’s Reconnaissance Unit conducted a targeted raid where intelligence officials determined there were Hamas terrorists located. At the targeted location, armed terrorists came out of the ER room to fire on IDF soldiers.
Operations of Shayetet 13 in the Shifa Hospital on March 30, 2024 (credit: IDF Spokesperson’s Unit)
The terrorists eliminated
Several terrorists were eliminated in the raid in close combat with Israeli forces, including senior Hamas leader Ra’ad Thabat and Mahmoud Khalil Ziqzouq, the latter of whom was the Deputy Head of the Rocket Unit in Gaza City.
Terrorists Fadi Dewik and Zakariya Najeeb were eliminated in an encounter at the maternity hospital. Dewik carried out a shooting attack in the Israeli settlement Adora, which murdered four people, as was released in the Shalit deal, which was an agreement in 2011 between Israel and Hamas to release Gilad Shalit, who was held hostage by Hamas from 2006 to 2011 and was released in exchange for 1,027 prisoners held by Israel.
Najeeb was a senior operative in Hamas’s West Bank Headquarters and was responsible for linking the West Bank and Gaza Strip in directing terror attacks. He, too, was released in the Shalit deal.
Footage of two armed Hamas terrorists eliminated in the Shifa Hospital area (credit: IDF Spokesperson’s Unit)
Israeli forces also located many weapons, including sniper weapons, Kalashnikov rifles, cartridges, and grenades.
In the last few days, Israeli forces encountered terrorists outside the hospital building, who were thwarted by soldiers of the Shaked Battalion.
The IDF and Shin Bet stressed that they are operating in the area while preventing harm to civilians, patients, medical teams, and medical equipment.
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