Israeli forces withdraw from Al-Shifa having not found any weapons

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen
16 Nov 2023 00:16
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After besieging the hospital and bombing it on several occasions, Israeli occupation forces finally withdrew from Al-Shifa Hospital with no evidence supporting their claims.

Israeli occupation forces storm Al-Shifa Hospital as they wreak havoc on placements in its courtyard, Gaza, Gaza Strip, Palestine, on November 15, 2023. (AP)

Israeli occupation forces withdrew from Al-Shifa Medical Complex, however, their tanks remain positioned in its vicinity, the Director General of Al-Shifa Medical Complex, Muhammad Abu Salmiya, said late on Wednesday.

Abu Salmiya confirmed, yet again, that Israeli occupation forces "did not find any military gear or weapons in the hospital," emphasizing that the Hospital's management does not allow weapons on its premises.

He pointed to the futility of the ongoing communications with international organizations, which were unable to deter the occupation from committing yet another war crime in the Gaza Strip.

The Director General of Al-Shifa revealed that the occupation detained two medical engineers and interrogated several medical staffers in the complex.

In detail, the two detained engineers are the only available experts at the hospital who are tasked with the management of the complex's electrical generators and oxygen supply systems, according to Munir al-Bursh, the Director General for the Ministry of Health in Gaza.

Al-Bursh revealed that the occupation sabotaged and destroyed crucial systems and assets in the complex, having failed to find their alleged spoils.

Qatar calls for an international investigation

On its part, Qatar urged an international investigation into Israeli raids on medical facilities in the Gaza Strip, denouncing Israeli war crimes in Al-Shifa Hospital.

The Qatari Foreign Ministry in a statement called for "an urgent international investigation" by the United Nations to look into "the targeting of hospitals by the Israeli occupation army."

Meanwhile, Hamas held the president of the United States Joe Biden responsible for the raid. In response, Kirby told reporters, "We did not give an OK to their ("Israel's") military operations around the hospital."

Further exposing Israeli lies, the Hamas movement confirmed that the Israeli occupation’s claim that there are weapons in Al-Shifa Hospital is merely part "of the blatant lies and cheap propaganda, through which it tries to justify its crime with the aim of destroying the health sector in Gaza."

Hamas stressed that this propaganda is the same as that the Israeli forces used to justify their storming of al-Rantisi Children's Hospital, "where the occupation plants weapons in the place and puts up an unsubstantiated charade that no one falls for anymore."

The Resistance movement reminded everyone of the call it repeatedly made to the United Nations and international organizations to form an international committee to "look into the conditions of hospitals and thus, expose the lies of the occupation’s narrative and its false claims."

Hamas also highlighted "the extent of lies and deception promoted by the occupation to cover up its crimes against children, women, and defenseless civilians."

Earlier, a journalist trapped in Al-Shifa told AFP that the IOF may have withdrawn from the hospital after numerous have been martyred and wounded.

IOF tanks and bulldozers are now inside the complex of Al-Shifa Medical Complex, storming it, and committing yet another war crime.#PalestineGenocide #GazaUnderAttack pic.twitter.com/OMjUEIPVGX
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) November 15, 2023

'Israel's' crimes limitless

Moreover, Gaza's governmental Media Office lambasted the occupation for its "systematic raids on hospitals."

The media office stressed that the occupation's military "executed a historical crime," as hundreds of occupation soldiers and numerous armored vehicles invaded the hospital.

Occupation soldiers physically assaulted numerous patients, injured individuals, displaced people, and medical staff in al-Shifa. They also forced several individuals to strip down naked as they subjected them to verbal abuse.

They also forced medical teams to leave their workplaces in medical buildings, interrogating them under the threat of murder.

In a grim continuation of the ongoing atrocities, marked by massacres, invasions, and deliberate targeting of vital medical institutions, such as Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital, Indonesian Hospital, Al-Rantisi Hospital, Public Service Hospital, Al-Quds Hospital, Turkish Hospital, and various other healthcare facilities, the toll on humanity and Palestine has been devastating.

Hundreds of martyrs and countless wounded civilians, including children and women, bear witness to the gravity of "Israel's" heinous acts. Today, the occupying forces escalated their brutality by storming Al-Shifa Medical Complex at dawn.

1,750 children under the rubble

The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced that the number of martyrs in the Gaza Strip has risen to 11,320, including 4,650 children, 3,145 women, and 685 elderly people.

3,600 civilians are still missing or under the rubble, including 1,750 children. The lack of fuel, supplies, and heavy medical equipment, due to the occupation's criminal policies, has left thousands stuck under the rubble.

The Ministry also said 202 healthcare workers and 36 civil defense staff members were killed by "Israel" since October 7 while more than 200 healthcare workers were injured in Gaza.

The entirety of the Gaza Strip has been left with only ten operational hospitals, as the Ministry of health says Israeli bombing and its restriction on the entry of fuel to the Strip have put 25 out of 35 hospitals out of service.