Smoke rises during an Israeli military bombardment of the northern Gaza Strip on November 15, 2023 (Picture: AFP)
The BBC has apologised for reporting that Israeli troops were targeting medics and Arab speakers during a raid at Gaza’s Al-Shifa hospital.
The broadcaster clarified it should have stated that medical teams and translators were assisting the IDF in the operation, a mistake it said was rectified on air minutes later.
Israel Defence Forces raided Gaza’s largest hospital overnight where thousands of Palestinian civilians had taken shelter.
All people inside Al-Shifa hospital, including patients and doctors, have been told to leave under heavy gunfire, while IDF soldiers search every ward, Al Jazeera Arabic reported.
Mohammed Zaqout, the director of hospitals in Gaza, said tanks had also entered the medical compound.
‘The occupation forces stormed the buildings,’ he said over the phone. He said the patients, including children, are terrified.
‘They are screaming. It’s a very terrifying situation … we can do nothing for them but pray.’
The Israeli military said it was carrying out a ‘precise and targeted operation against Hamas in a specified area in the Al-Shifa Hospital’.
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It said it warned ‘relevant authorities in Gaza’ that all military activities within the hospital must cease. ‘Unfortunately, it did not.’
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Israel says Hamas has a massive command center inside and beneath, but has not provided visual evidence.
Hamas and the hospital staff have repeatedly denied the allegations.