By Sean Seddon, BBC News
A Palestinian woman holds a child as they mourn their relatives killed in Israeli bombardment in front of the morgue of the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on 15 March, 2024. Photo: AFP
Israeli forces have launched an overnight raid on the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza, with reports of tanks and heavy gunfire at the facility.
An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson said the IDF was carrying out a "high precision operation in limited areas" of the hospital.
The IDF said "senior Hamas terrorists have regrouped" inside the hospital and are using it to launch attacks.
Eyewitnesses described a state of panic inside the complex in Gaza City.
In a recorded call with his brother posted on a WhatsApp group, one man said: "Tanks are surrounding us. We are hiding inside the tent. We hear tank fire in the vicinity of the compound."
Heavy gunfire could be heard around the hospital in unverified footage posted on social media.
In a voice message sent to journalists from inside the hospital, Muhammad Al-Sayyid said: "The soldiers here inside the complex there are dead and wounded, and the soldiers arrested some young men. The situation here is catastrophic."
In a video message posted early on Monday, IDF chief spokesperson Rear Adm Daniel Hagari said the Israeli military was responding to "concrete intelligence which demanded immediate action".
He said the hospital would be able to continue functioning during the raid and told patients and staff they did not have to evacuate.
Displaced people sheltering at the complex will be able to leave the hospital via an evacuation route, he said, before calling on Hamas to "surrender immediately".
Palestinians identify relatives killed in Israeli bombardment in front of the morgue of the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on 15 March, 2024. Photo: AFP
A statement from the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry called the operation a "flagrant violation of international humanitarian law".
Hundreds of displaced Palestinians are sheltering at the hospital, which was raided by Israeli forces earlier in the conflict.
Hospitals have protected status during times of war under international humanitarian law - but they can lose that protection in limited circumstances if they are being used to commit an "act harmful to the enemy".
Israel has long accused Hamas of using medical facilities as cover for its operations, which the Iranian-backed armed group denies.
The IDF said it found a network of tunnels under the hospital used by Hamas when it raided al-Shifa in November 2023, as well as weapons.
Prior to the conflict, al-Shifa hospital was the largest medical facility in Gaza.
- This story was first published by BBC.
