Sean Seddon, BBC News<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Israeli forces have launched an overnight raid on al-Shifa hospital in Gaza, with reports of tanks and heavy gunfire at the facility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An Israel Defense Forces spokesperson said the IDF was carrying out a “high precision operation in limited areas” of the hospital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The IDF said “senior Hamas terrorists have regrouped” inside the hospital and are using it to launch attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eyewitnesses described a state of panic inside the complex in Gaza City.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Tanks are surrounding us. We are hiding inside the tent. We hear tank fire in the vicinity of the compound,” one man said in a recorded call with his brother posted on a WhatsApp group and heard by the BBC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Heavy gunfire could be heard around the hospital in unverified footage posted on social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In another voice message sent to journalists from inside the hospital Muhammad Al-Sayyid said: “The soldiers here inside the complex there are dead and wounded, and the soldiers arrested some young men. The situation here is catastrophic.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The IDF had not publicly signalled in advance that it was planning to launch a new operation at al-Shifa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a video message posted in the early hours, IDF chief spokesperson Rear Adm Daniel Hagari said the Israeli military was responding to “concrete intelligence which demanded immediate action”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said the hospital would be able to continue functioning during the raid and told patients and staff they did not have to evacuate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Displaced people sheltering at the complex will be able to leave the hospital via an evacuation route, he said, before calling on Hamas to “surrender immediately”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A statement from the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry called the operation a “flagrant violation of international humanitarian law”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hundreds of displaced Palestinians are sheltering at the hospital, which was raided by Israeli forces earlier in the conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Al-Shifa hospital was Gaza’s main medical facility prior to the conflict, but its operations have been severely disrupted after months of fighting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
Hospitals have protected status during times of war under international humanitarian law – but they can lose that protection in limited circumstances if they are being used to commit an “act harmful to the enemy”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Israel has long accused Hamas of using medical facilities as cover for its operations, which the Iranian-backed armed group denies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The IDF said it found a network of tunnels under the hospital used by Hamas when it raided al-Shifa in November 2023, as well as weapons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Israeli troops also carried out a major military operation on the grounds of Nasser Hospital – Gaza’s second biggest medical facility – in February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n