Hamas attempts to regroup

(JNS) — Hamas terrorists are regrouping at Gaza hospitals, forcing the Israeli military to conduct operations to eliminate these insurgencies, Channel 12 reported on Monday.

An operation at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City has been going on for over a week and is expected to last another two days. 

According to the Israel Defense Forces, 170 Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists have been killed in firefights in and around the compound and another 500 have been apprehended so far. A large amount of weapons have also been confiscated, many of which were hidden among medical equipment, patients and displaced civilians.

“Hamas hijacked the Shifa Hospital and hides behind the sick and injured, waging war from inside Shifa Hospital,” IDF Spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said in his regular press briefing on Sunday night.

“The IDF apprehended hundreds of terror suspects with confirmed ties to Hamas or Islamic Jihad, making this one of the most successful operations since the start of the war,” Hagari continued, adding that “a large number of these terrorists were involved in planning and executing the brutal massacre of Oct. 7.”

Furthermore, Hagari said that Hamas was destroying the hospital by firing mortars at troops, which damage the buildings. The terrorist group is also firing at Israeli forces from inside the Shifa Emergency Room and Maternity Ward and throwing explosive devices from the Shifa Burn Ward, he said.

In contrast, “the IDF operates with precision and acts with care towards the patients and medical staff inside the hospital,” Hagari continued, noting that the IDF has moved the sick and wounded away from the combat zone, brought dozens of medical devices, over 10,000 units of medications, hundreds of medical supplies, food, water and other equipment to Shifa.

Troops also restored electricity to the hospital after Hamas’s attacks knocked out the generator.

“Our operation at Shifa Hospital proves once again: Hamas systematically uses hospitals to wage war and consistently uses the people of Gaza as human shields,” Hagari concluded.

Israeli forces have also entered Al-Amal and Nasser hospitals in Khan Yunis, according to reports.

“Five months into the [Gaza ground] war, and after prolonged activity in the various cities in the Gaza Strip—the IDF recognizes the fact that Hamas terrorists are using the hospital’s infrastructure as complexes for regrouping,” Channel 12 reported.

“At Shifa Hospital they evacuated wards and turned them into their terrorist headquarters,” according to the report.

In the Al Amal area of western Khan Yunis, Israeli forces continue to conduct targeted raids on terrorist infrastructure, according to an IDF update on Monday, killing 20 terrorists in the past 24 hours.

Moreover, the IDF and Israel Security Agency over the past day facilitated the exit of hundreds of Gazans from Al Amal and questioned dozens of suspects. Explosive devices, RPGs and military equipment were also located.

Israeli forces also continue to operate in the central Gaza Strip, eliminating several terrorists over the past day, including a terrorist spotted entering and exiting a tunnel shaft positioned near troops. 

Over the past day, Israeli Air Force fighter jets struck 50 terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip. Further strikes by helicopters and aircraft struck 10 terrorists and assisted troops on the ground.