Bassel al-Hilou lives in Gaza City and visited the hospital today. The scenes that greeted him and anyone else who ventured into the battered buildings were gruesome.
– It was indescribable. Bodies that had been there for over seven days, they were swollen and had signs of decay, says Bassel al-Hilou.
The Israeli military IDF has always claimed that the Al Shifa hospital was a hideout for the terrorist organization Hamas where civilians were used as human shields. The IDF has released images of weapons and ammunition it says were found inside the hospital.
The World Health Organization WHO states that at least 21 patients died during the military operation, while the IDF describes it as one of the most successful since the war began and denies that civilians have been harmed.
– Our Prime Minister confirms: Our forces operated in an exemplary manner. Al-Shifa has become an important command center for Hamas terror. The surprise attack by our forces was precise and surgical, Israeli government spokesman Avi Hyman said today.