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The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) launched a major offensive on the Al Nasser hospital in southern Gaza, the largest still-functioning hospital in the enclave, over reports that it was housing Hamas militants. The ‘precise and limited operation’ left ‘an undetermined number of people killed and injured’ according to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). The IDF later released a statement claiming to have ‘credible intelligence from a number of sources’ that Hamas ‘held hostages at the Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis.’ It also claimed that Hamas militants were hiding in the hospital, although no evidence has been found, or presented, to back up any of these claims. Hamas has strongly condemned the raid, calling the IDF justification ‘lies.’ The Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health also claimed that warnings to evacuate the hospital came too late, causing the evacuation to be carried out ‘under bombardment and threats.’ These sentiments were echoed by MSF, who said that ‘medical staff have had to flee the hospital, leaving patients behind,’ and revealed that one of their doctors was detained attempting to leave the hospital. The raid comes as Israel has been placed under mounting pressure to slow its offensive in Gaza, especially in Rafah in the south, which houses 1.5 million civilians.
