The entry of IDF forces into Shifa Hospital tonight (between Tuesday and Wednesday) is a dramatic development in the war with the Gaza Strip. For weeks, the IDF prepared public opinion, especially international opinion, for possible entry into what is considered a terrorist stronghold and a safe place for terrorists due to the many risks involved in entering it.
Tonight, the IDF entered the hospital in a targeted manner and according to intelligence information after blackening it for weeks, and was in direct contact with its managers in order to persuade them to evacuate the area together with the medical staff and patients.
The entry took place after the military notified the hospital directors in advance. At this stage, as far as is known, no shots have been fired inside the hospital, but the forces eliminated five terrorists on the way there. The forces entered the compound together with Arabic speakers and medical personnel, handed over humanitarian equipment and placed it at the entrance to the hospital. In the first hours, they found weapons used by the terrorists.
The forces continue their focused activity at Shifaa Hospital, Photo: IDF Spokesperson
It is believed that there were Israeli abductees under Shifa Hospital at one point or another, but the IDF lowers expectations and does not guarantee that the Israeli operation at the moment in Gaza's largest hospital will lead to the release of hostages. At the same time, the hope and assessment is that the operation in the area will lead to finding indications and locating intelligence information related to the abductees.
The IDF had been preparing international legitimacy for the Shifa operation for weeks, repeatedly revealing that terrorist infrastructure was underneath the hospital. The IDF's entry into Shifa was preceded by the phenomenal presentation by the IDF Spokesperson and former commander of Shayetet 13, Brigadier General Daniel Hagari, from Rantisi Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip, who presented unequivocal proof of the presence of terrorists under the hospital and apparently Israeli abductees as well.
Israel's propaganda work was also reflected last night in a White House announcement that effectively confirmed the Israeli claim that the hospital has terrorist infrastructure. This morning, after the forces entered, the Americans announced that they did not want to see IDF air fire at the hospital or fighting inside.
Shifa Hospital is considered the hub of the network of tunnels and headquarters in the northern Gaza Strip, a place that it is doubtful whether the Hamas leadership thought Israel would ever dare to enter. A significant blow to it is a blow to a Palestinian symbol, but on the other hand, it is not free of risks to the forces and even to Israeli activity as a whole, since it carries with it a very high potential for entanglement and increased criticism of Israel in the West. Moreover, the entry into Shifa may also affect the hostage deal being formulated, according to foreign reports, as well as Hezbollah's conduct along the Lebanese border.
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