The Israeli military on Thursday continued its operation in al-Shifa, Gaza's main hospital, a strategic Hamas military site where it said thousands of civilians were crammed in, sparking deep concern and criticism.
"Tonight (Wednesday) we are carrying out a targeted operation in al-Shifa hospital. We continue to move forward," Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman said late Wednesday night on the army's Telegram channel.
The Israeli army confirmed to AFP early Thursday that its "soldiers" were still deployed in the hospital, the largest in Gaza, where the UN says about 2,300 people (patients, health workers, displaced people) are being held.
"Israeli bulldozers destroyed parts of the southern entrance" to the hospital, the Hamas administration's health ministry said in a brief statement in Arabic.
IDF says it found weapons, Hamas denies
Israel accuses Palestinian Hamas of using al-Shifa Hospital as a military base, the site representing a major objective in its war against the Islamist movement, which it has classified as a terrorist organization like the United States and the European Union, and which controls the Gaza Strip.
VIDEO. Gaza: Israel conducts 'targeted' operation in Al-Shifa hospital
The Israeli military claims to have found Hamas "ammunition, weapons and military equipment" at the hospital.
Read alsoDamage, fate of the sick... After the fighting in Gaza's Al-Shifa Hospital, the questions that arise
It has published images of what it says are weapons, grenades and other equipment found in al-Shifa. AFP has not been able to independently verify these claims.
The Israeli army "did not find any weapons or equipment" in the al-Shifa hospital, the Hamas Health Ministry said, saying it "does not allow" the presence of weapons in its facilities.
Women and children searched
Breaking its silence for the first time since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, the UN Security Council called for "humanitarian pauses and corridors" in the Gaza Strip.
This text, which received 12 votes in favour and 3 abstentions (United States, United Kingdom, Russia), is also the first resolution adopted by the Council since the end of 2016 on the Israeli-Palestinian issue.
Read alsoIsrael-Hamas war: a night of fighting at Al-Shifa hospital and the fear of humanitarian "chaos"
Dozens of Israeli soldiers, some wearing hoods, burst into the hospital early Wednesday, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.
"All men aged 16 and over, raise your hands in the air and go out of the buildings to the inner courtyard to surrender," soldiers shouted in Arabic before retreating and then repositioning themselves on the spot.
Soldiers also searched weeping women and children, according to the journalist at the scene. In the corridors of the hospital, they sometimes fired in the air as they went from room to room.
Biden calls on Israel to be cautious
The first raid on the hospital drew international condemnation and urgent calls to protect Palestinian civilians.
US President Joe Biden, a key supporter of Israel in its war against Hamas, on Wednesday night called on his ally to be "extremely careful" in conducting his operation at al-Shifa hospital.
French President Emmanuel Macron condemned "in the strongest terms" the bombing of civilian infrastructure, while the Quai d'Orsay said the Palestinian population should "not have to pay for Hamas' crimes."
Towards a telecommunications shutdown
Since November 5, an estimated 200,000 Palestinians, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), have fled the northern Gaza Strip, which has been turned into a field of ruins.
According to OCHA, 1.65 million of the territory's 2.4 million inhabitants have been displaced by the war.
Despite an initial delivery of just over 23,000 liters of fuel via Egypt on Wednesday, the UN warned that its aid operations in Gaza were "on the verge of collapse" and the UN humanitarian chief on Wednesday urged an end to "the carnage in Gaza".
Due to a lack of fuel, Palestinian telecoms operator Paltel announced on Wednesday "a suspension of all telecommunications services within hours" and could "further threaten the lives of the people of Gaza," Human Rights Watch warned Thursday.