Gaza’s largest hospital, al-Shifa, was once again turned into a battlefield yesterday. Five hours of fighting between Israel and Hamas at the hospital, viewed by Israel as a base used by terrorists, left some 80 Palestinians detained. Israel claimed to have killed about 20 terrorists in the precision raid, including Faiq Mabhouh, the head of Hamas’s internal security operations. The IDF (Israeli Defence Forces) also found a large cache of weapons, including rifles, grenades, rocket launchers and cash hidden inside al-Shifa.

Mabhouh’s death follows that of Marwan Issa, deputy commander of Hamas’s military wing, last week. These killings will dramatically weaken Hamas, but Israel remains some way off the ‘total victory’ sought by the country’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israel claimed to have killed about 20 terrorists in the precision raid

Hamas shows resilience by re-grouping and carrying on fighting despite suffering major blows at the hand of Israeli forces. As it struggles for survival, Hamas is likely to continue to use facilities like al-Shifa to hide behind vulnerable civilians. This approach has long been Hamas’s modus operandi. For years, Israel has known about Hamas’s use of hospitals, schools, nurseries and places of worship, but in the past refrained from attacking those targets out of concern for civilian casualties. Although those concerns are still present, Israel knows it cannot defeat Hamas without operating in those spaces, and its military takes precautions to minimise casualties among civilians.

But even if it continues to take the war to Hamas, this is an organisation that is unlikely to be completely annihilated. The ideology that guides Hamas – the destruction of Israel – will certainly not go away. Israel may need to settle for the removal of Hamas from power and disabling their military ability enough so they do not use a major threat to Israel.

QOSHE - Why Israel targeted Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital - Limor Simhony Philpott
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Why Israel targeted Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital

6 3
19.03.2024

Gaza’s largest hospital, al-Shifa, was once again turned into a battlefield yesterday. Five hours of fighting between Israel and Hamas at the hospital, viewed by Israel as a base used by terrorists, left some 80 Palestinians detained. Israel claimed to have killed about 20 terrorists in the precision raid, including Faiq Mabhouh, the head of Hamas’s internal security operations. The IDF (Israeli Defence Forces) also found a large cache of weapons, including rifles, grenades, rocket........

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