[En direct] In Gaza, the Israeli army carries out an operation in the al-Chifa hospital

4 mins

What you must remember :

► The Israeli army claims to be carrying out a “targeted” operation in al-Chifa hospital, the largest hospital in Gaza.

►A five-day march from Tel Aviv to the Israeli Prime Minister’s office in Jerusalem began on Tuesday, led by relatives of the 240 hostages held by Hamas, who are demanding their release.

►Israeli police announced Tuesday investigate on ” several cases » of sexual violence committed against women by Hamas commandos during the attacks of October 7.

►The Israeli army announced that it had taken possession of government buildings, including the Parliament, of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in Gaza City.

►The Palestinian Hamas Ministry of Health announced this Monday at 7 p.m. that the results of Israeli bombings in the Gaza Strip had reached 11,320 dead since the start of the war on October 7, including 4,650 children. Since that date, more than 1 200 Israelis were killed after a downwardly revised balance sheet Friday November 10. The Israeli army reports 239 people held hostage by Hamas.

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5:58 a.m. : According to witnesses on site, it was the western part of the hospital which was taken over, and partitions were destroyed, reports our correspondent in Jerusalem, Michael Paul. According to the Al Jazeera television channel, Israeli forces gave a warning ahead of this incursion into the hospital a few minutes before the start of the operation. For the media in Israel, it would be an attempt to free hostages. The Israeli army spokesperson indicated on Monday that hostages were or had been held in hospitals in Gaza City. And in this context, this Wednesday morning, in Israel, progress was reported regarding an exchange of prisoners. These would be children in exchange for children, Israelis detained by Hamas in Gaza, including a ten-month-old baby, and Palestinian minors, perpetrators of attacks, who are in prisons in Israel. This exchange could take place in the coming days.

4:47 a.m. :“ Israeli Defense Forces carry out targeted and precision operation against Hamas in specific area of ​​al-Chifa hospital », the army said early Wednesday in a statement in English, as the war triggered by the Hamas attack on October 7 entered its fortieth day. The Israeli army has on site “ medical teams and Arabic-speaking people who have been trained specifically for this sensitive and complex environment, with the aim of ensuring that no harm is caused to civilians used by Hamas as human shields “, she added without specifying her targets. A senior Hamas administration official told AFP he saw “ tanks » and “ commandos » in the hospital complex.

Several thousand people, sick, staff and civilians displaced by the war, crowded onto the site of the al-Chifa hospital, which was surrounded by the Israeli army. The hospital director said at least “179 bodies” were buried in a mass grave on Tuesday. “ There are bodies littering the aisles of the hospital complex and the refrigerated rooms of the morgues are no longer supplied with power. » in electricity, Mohammed Abou Salmiya told AFP, before the Israeli operation in this hospital in the center of Gaza city. During the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip indicated that it had been notified by the Israeli army of its intention to carry out an operation in this hospital at the heart of the conflict between Hamas and the Israeli army. .

Read alsoIsraeli army says it is carrying out ‘targeted’ operation in al-Chifa hospital