Israel strikes near several hospitals as military pushes deeper into Gaza City

Khan Younis: Israeli strikes hit near several hospitals in Gaza City early Friday as the military pushed deeper into dense urban neighborhoods in its battle with Hamas militants, prompting increasing numbers of civilians to flee toward the south of the besieged territory.

Israel has accused Hamas fighters of hiding in hospitals and using the Shifa Hospital complex as its main command center, which the militant group and hospital staff deny, saying Israel is creating a pretext to strike it.

Growing numbers of people have been living in and around Shifa Hospital, Gaza’s largest, hoping it will be safer than their homes or United Nations shelters in the north, several of which have been hit repeatedly. Israeli troops were around 3 kilometers (2 miles) from the hospital, according to its director.

Early Friday, Israel struck the Shifa courtyard and the obstetrics department, according to the head of the Hamas-run media office in Gaza, Salama Maarouf. A video at the scene recorded the sound of incoming fire waking people up in their makeshift shelters in the courtyard, followed by screams for an ambulance.

Maarouf told the television network Al Jazeera that strikes were carried out near three hospitals in total, but gave no casualty figures. The Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza later said one person had been killed at Shifa Hospital and several were wounded. Gaza’s largest city is the focus of Israel’s campaign to crush Hamas following its deadly Oct. 7 surprise incursion.

More than 10,800 Palestinians have been killed since the hostilities began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not not differentiate between civilian and militant deaths. Another 2,650 people have been reported missing and may be trapped or dead under the rubble.

Though United States President Joe Biden and others have challenged the figures from the Gaza Health Ministry as exaggerated, Assistant Secretary of State Barbara Leaf told lawmakers earlier in the week that it was “very possible” the numbers were actually even higher than reported.

More than 1,400 people have been killed in Israel, mainly in the initial Hamas attack, and over 30 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the ground offensive began. Israel’s military said Friday that it killed 19 Hamas militants overnight including a company commander and a platoon commander who were involved in the Oct. 7 attack and also destroyed a shipping container that held some 20 rocket launchers.