‘No Siege of Shifa Hospital,’ Says Israeli Military Spokesperson

Jerusalem, 11 November, 2023 (TPS) -- Updating reporters on the situation at Gaza’s Shifa Hospital, Israel Defense Forces Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said there was no siege of the Strip’s largest medical center.

“There has been a lot of misinformation from Gaza today. So I want to clarify the facts. There is no siege, I repeat no siege, on Shifa Hospital. The east side of the hospital is open for the safe passage of Gazans who wish to leave the hospital,” Hagari said.

” We’re speaking directly and regularly with the hospital staff. The staff of Shifa Hospital has requested that tomorrow we will help the babies in the pediatric department to get to a safer hospital. We will provide the assistance needed.”

According to statements made by Hamas figures, it appears the IDF is encircling a triangle area of three hospitals where Hamas maintains its headquarters, the Shifa, Al-Quds and Indonesian Hospitals.

Hamas’s main headquarters is located under the massive Shifa Hospital complex in the northern Gaza Strip.

As reported by the Tazpit Press Service, Hamas makes extensive use of the Shifa Hospital. Believing that Israel would not attack a hospital during a war, Hamas leaders hide there, launch rockets from its compound, hide hostages in the bowels of the building, torture collaborators, and dig tunnels connecting Shifa to nearby sites. Israel also released a recording of a phone call confirming that Hamas also stores at least a half-million liters of fuel underneath Shifa.

Hamas has refused to allow Palestinians to evacuate northern Gaza to the safer southern areas of the Strip.