Smoke rises during an Israeli raid at Al-Shifa hospital and the area around it in Gaza City on March 20. Dawoud Abu Alkas/Reuters
The Israeli military’s raid at Al-Shifa medical complex in Gaza City continued for a fifth day on Friday, with Palestinian health officials reporting that hundreds of patients are still trapped in the hospital and dozens of medical personnel forcibly detained.
The Gaza health ministry accused the Israeli military of detaining about 240 patients and their companions, as well as 10 health care personnel inside the hospital’s radiology department. Dozens of medical workers were also arrested and taken away from the hospital, a ministry statement added.
What Israel says: The Israel Defense Forces said Friday it has killed 150 Palestinian militants in or around the hospital and arrested hundreds of suspects since the raid began on Monday. CNN cannot independently verify these claims.
Allegations of violence: Hamas has accused Israeli soldiers of detaining and abusing civilians sheltering in and around Al-Shifa, including medical personnel.
Umm Rami, a Palestinian woman living close to the hospital, told CNN Friday that Israeli soldiers had raided her family home in the early hours of Monday and took away her 78-year-old father-in-law, Freij Hallaq, and a number of his male grandchildren. Rami found out Thursday afternoon that her father-in-law had died after sustaining gunshot wounds and bleeding to death. He was among several men who were detained from their homes in the area surrounding Al-Shifa.
“Yesterday, we received information in the afternoon that my father-in-law’s corpse was found lying on a chair in a room,” she said, adding that he was not wearing any clothes.
The IDF did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment on Freij’s death.
Source link: https://www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news-03-22-24/index.html