An unnamed security official says that the Israeli operation at Al-Shifa Hospital will be widened if necessary, and implied that the military knows exactly what it is going to find there.
“We are starting small, and the operation will expand as necessary,” the official tells Army Radio. “The entry of troops into Al-Shifa is more of a challenge for media [optics] than operations.”
“The decision was that we enter Al-Shifa only if we know exactly what is there and where it is, as we did at Rantisi Hospital, which was only [raided] when we knew exactly what was in its basement,” the official says.
The Israel Defense Forces has said it is carrying out a “precise and targeted operation against Hamas in a specified area” of the Gaza City medical facility.
Earlier this week, the Israeli military revealed what it said was proof that the basement of Gaza City’s Rantisi Children’s Hospital was used by the Hamas terror group to hide arms and possibly hold hostages kidnapped on October 7, as Jerusalem seeks to dispel criticism of fighting near hospitals thought to hold terrorist hideouts.
We can't do this work alone.
The war with Iran has been draining for all of us in Israel. But when I heard about a high casualty incident – ballistic missile impacts in Arad and Dimona that left nearly 200 people wounded – I drank a cup of coffee, packed a bag, and headed south.
There, I spoke with Shilgit, the head of an after-school program for underprivileged youth. Standing outside her destroyed center, Shilgit said it was a miracle that no children were hurt and spoke about the community coming together in the hours since.
As a Times of Israel reporter, I’m committed to telling stories of resilience like Shilgit’s. But my colleagues and I can't do this alone. If you value work like this, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to keep real human reporting like this going.
— Stav Levaton, military reporter
Yes, I'll join
Yes, I'll join
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From 
