Israel said its troops killed fighters in a clash outside the gates before entering and had brought medical supplies for those inside.
In a statement, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said: “Based on intelligence information and an operational necessity, IDF forces are carrying out a precise and targeted operation against Hamas in a specified area in the Shifa hospital.
“Before entering the hospital our forces were confronted by explosive devices and terrorist squads, and fighting ensued in which terrorists were killed,” the Israeli military said.
“We can confirm that incubators, baby food, and medical supplies brought by IDF tanks from Israel have successfully reached the Shifa hospital.
“Our medical teams and Arabic-speaking soldiers are on the ground to ensure that these supplies reach those in need,” the Israeli military said.
Israel said it had given Hamas a 12-hour deadline to cease military activity at the hospital, but “Unfortunately, it did not.”
Israeli troops entered Gaza’s biggest hospital on Wednesday and were searching its rooms and basement, witnesses said, culminating a siege that caused global alarm over the fate of thousands of civilians trapped inside.
Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City has become the main target of the ground operation by Israeli forces, who say Hamas fighters have the “beating heart” of their operations in a headquarters in tunnels beneath it, which Hamas denies.
Gaza officials say many patients including three newborn babies died in recent days as a result of Israel’s encirclement of the facility.
Israeli army spokesman Lt.-Col. Peter Lerner said that the hospital and compound were for Hamas “a central hub of their operations, perhaps even the beating heart and maybe even a centre of gravity.”
The United States said on Tuesday that its own intelligence supported Israel’s conclusions about the presence of a Hamas headquarters at Al Shifa.
Israel launched its campaign to annihilate Hamas, the Islamist militant group that controls Gaza, after fighters crossed into Israel on Oct. 7, rampaging through towns, killing civilians, and dragging hostages back into Gaza.
Israel says 1,200 people were killed and some 240 captives taken in the deadliest day in its 75-year history.
Since then, Israel has put Gaza’s entire population of 2.3 million under siege, pounding the crowded strip with air strikes.
Gaza health officials, considered reliable by the United Nations, say more than 11,000 Palestinians are confirmed killed, around 40 per cent of them children, and more are buried under the rubble.
Israel has ordered the entire northern half of Gaza evacuated, and around two-thirds of residents are now homeless.
Israeli ground forces entered at the end of October and gradually tightened their circle around the Shifa complex.
Palestinians say hospitals are protected by the Geneva Conventions and Israel’s assault is a war crime.
Israel says Hamas fighters are to blame for harm to civilians by hiding among them.
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