Immensely successful operation routs terrorists who thought they could rebuild headquarters in central Gaza hospital

In a relentless but literally surgical pursuit of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists, the IDF has concluded its operations around Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital that took places of the last two weeks of March 2024, one of the most significant confrontations since the conflict started and even more successful than the first conquest of the facility in November 2023. The operation, meticulously orchestrated, targeted senior Hamas and Islamic Jihad figures who had regrouped within the medical facility, using civilians as human shields.

Eyewitnesses described “total destruction” arund the hospital complex caused by the terrorist infestation. Militants fired at IDF troop from the emergency room and maternity wards, throwihng explosive devices from the Shifa Burn Ward, intentionally selecting these sensitive areas to deter an Israeli response.

The IDF’s strategic incursion was aimed at dismantling Hamas’s stronghold, which exploitwd the hospital as a command center in gross violation of international norms. Persistent precision strikes led to the neutralization of over 200 terrorists and the detention of around 800, significantly crippling the terror outfit’s operational capabilities and further demoralizing the terror group, many of whom surrendered after being routed from their positions in the sprawling al-Shifa facility, now largely in ruins.

At the same time, parallel to military efforts, Israel underscored its commitment to civilian welfare by ensuring unimpeded humanitarian aid flow into Gaza and uninterrupted treatment or relocation of patients and medical staff at the hospital. Despite operational intensities, the IDF facilitated civilian evacuations from the vicinity, underscoring a principled stand against using medical facilities for terror activities.

The operations at Al-Shifa not only exposed Hamas’s tactical malfeasance but also underscored the IDF’s sophisticated intelligence and operational prowess. Many of the Hamas and PIJ deaths and captures were senior operatives, the IDF said.