The IDF has begun withdrawing from al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza after two weeks of operating at the site, Arab media sources reported on Monday morning.
The Hamas-affiliated Safa News Agency later reported that clashes between Israeli forces and terrorists could be heard in the hospital’s vicinity.
The Gaza-based Palestinian news organization also claimed that the hospital had sustained widespread burning and destruction and had consequently been rendered totally out of service.
A week into the operation at Shifa, IDF spokesperson R.-Adm. Daniel Hagari reported that Hamas had fired mortars at the hospital complex. In an update posted on its Telegram channel, Hamas corroborated the statement shortly thereafter.
Citizens warned to keep away from Shifa Hospital
The Hezbollah-affiliated Al Mayadeen added that a local correspondent noted that emergency committees were warning civilians not to visit the hospital out of concern for ongoing military activity on the premises.
On Saturday, IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi called the IDF operation in Shifa “successful” and “a very significant achievement,” adding that the military had managed “to kill and capture many, many terrorists.”
Over the course of the two-week operation, the IDF killed approximately 200 terrorists and arrested more than 800 terror suspects, over 500 of whom the IDF has confirmed as members of either Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
The IDF has yet to confirm the reports that it had withdrawn from the hospital premises.
Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report. This is a developing story.
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