CAIRO, November 15. /TASS/. Palestinian Health Minister Mai al-Kaila has blasted the Israeli operation at the Al-Shifa hospital in the Gaza Strip as a crime against humanity.

"The Israeli occupation and the international community are responsible for the lives of the patients, medical staff and displaced persons who are staying at the Al-Shifa hospital," she said in a statement posted to Telegram. "The storming of the medical compound by the occupation army is a crime against humanity."

"Thousands of patients, displaced persons and medical staff currently do not know their fate," she went on to say.

According to Gaza Strip authorities, there are currently almost 9,000 people inside the compound, including patients and the wounded.

The Israeli military started an operation in the area of the Al-Shifa hospital in the Gaza Strip overnight into Wednesday, saying the compound houses the main command headquarters of Hamas. The Israel Defense Forces also said there are several underground facilities and a tunnel beneath the medical center, where some 200 radicals are taking shelter and holding hostages that were taken in the October 7 attack.