DUBAI, November 24. /TASS/. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops are leaving Al-Shifa Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip, the Sky News Arabia TV channel said, citing Palestinian sources.
The media outlet did not specify the reason why the Israeli military was leaving the area. The London-based Arabi21 news portal claimed that Israeli soldiers had blown up the hospital’s power generators, as well as medical and oxygen equipment before leaving.
The IDF has thus far made no comment on these reports.
The newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Friday night, citing IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari, that the Israeli military planned to leave Al-Shifa Hospital after destroying the terrorist infrastructure of the Palestinian radical group Hamas that had been found there. A few hours later, the Israeli military was reported to have destroyed tunnels and mines discovered in the vicinity of Al-Shifa Hospital ahead of the entry into force of a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip.
The IDF has been conducting a mop-up operation at Al-Shifa Hospital since last week. The Israeli army said there were several underground complexes and a tunnel beneath the medical center where radicals were sheltering and holding hostages kidnapped in the October 7 attack.