Israeli ground forces battled Hamas near Gaza City’s largest hospital on Sunday, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed the all-out attack was bearing fruit for the possible release of nearly 240 people held hostage by the terrorist group. .
The Israel Defense Forces began exchanging fire with Hamas fighters over the weekend around Al-Shifa Hospital, where Israel accused the terrorist organization of hosting a command post through its massive underground tunnel system.
Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry said the fighting had left the hospital without fuel, leading to the deaths of three premature babies and four other patients. The lack of electricity has also left 36 other babies at risk of death, he said.
Netanyahu said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Israel offered to provide fuel to the hospital, but “they turned it down.”
The prime minister also doubled down on his nation’s strategy of using military power to pressure Hamas to release hostages taken during the group’s surprise attack on Israel on October 7, saying those efforts are now underway as the IDF continues its ground incursion.
Al-Shifa Hospital is caught in the middle of the war between Israel and Hamas. via REUTERS Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to continue the attack as a “possible” hostage negotiation loomed. AP
“We heard there was an imminent deal of this guy or that guy and then we knew it was all nonsense. But the moment we started the ground operation that started to change,” Netanyahu said of the negotiations.
“That’s the only thing that could create a deal and if there’s a deal available, well, we’ll talk about it when it’s there,” he added, noting that “there’s a lot” on the table currently.
“We will announce it if possible,” he said.
The Biden administration confirmed that a “possible agreement” for the release of the hostages was being discussed.
Relatives mourn after their loved ones were killed during a nighttime airstrike in Rafah.AFP via Getty Images
While the deal remained up in the air, the IDF and Hamas continued to clash in Gaza, with a humanitarian crisis at Shifa hospital and the two sides blaming each other for Palestinian civilians caught in the middle of the fighting.
The IDF said on Sunday it would help evacuate babies from the hospital after the deaths of the three newborns, as well as create routes for patients and refugees to flee Shifa, as well as the Rantisi and Nasser hospitals.
“We are obviously treading carefully when it comes to the hospitals. But we are not going to give immunity to terrorists either,” Netanyahu said in an interview on CNN on Sunday.
“I think that any type of loss [of life] it’s a tragedy. And the blame should fall squarely on Hamas because it prevents them from leaving the war zone, sometimes at gunpoint,” he added.
Despite evacuation routes, Gaza officials claimed that airstrikes had been carried out near hospitals, and that a recent bombing killed three people, including a doctor.
IDF soldiers continue to break ground in their ground invasion of northern Gaza.AP Nothing but rubble was left after an Israeli airstrike destroyed a building in Rafah, with civilians caught in the crossfire.AFP via Getty Images
Health Ministry Undersecretary Munir al-Boursh told Al Jazeera that the airstrike also destroyed several houses adjacent to the hospital complex.
“There are wounded people in the house and we cannot reach them,” he said on television, claiming that Israeli snipers were shooting at any movement from inside the hospital. “We can’t stick our heads out the window.”
Muhammed Zaqout, director of hospitals in Gaza, said the death toll there had not been updated since Friday because officials were unable to reach hospitals surrounded by Israeli soldiers and shelling.
Injured Palestinians are rushed to hospital as Israel agreed to establish evacuation routes in three of Gaza’s medical centers.APAImages/Shutterstock
“The situation is extremely serious,” he said. “Ambulances cannot reach people under the rubble.”
According to the previous count, the Gaza Health Ministry estimated that more than 11,000 Palestinians have died since the war began, most of them women and minors.
Israel has vowed to keep up the attack on Gaza after Hamas killed 1,200 people in the Jewish state in its October 7 attack.
With post cables
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Source: vtt.edu.vn