TEL AVIV, February 15. /TASS/. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conducts "precise rescue operations" in the Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza, IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a statement.

"We (IDF - TASS) have credible intelligence from a number of sources, including from released hostages, indicating that Hamas held hostages at the Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis and that there may be bodies of our hostages in the Nasser hospital facility. As was proven with the Shifa Hospital; Rantisi Hospital; Al Amal Hospital; and many other hospitals across Gaza, Hamas systematically uses hospitals as terror hubs," the spokesman said, as quoted by the IDF press service. "We conduct precise rescue operations — as we have in the past — where our intelligence indicates that the bodies of hostages may be held," he added.

Hagari noted that "a key objective as defined by our military mission is to ensure that the Nasser hospital continues its important function of treating Gazan patients." He emphasized that "there is no obligation for patients or staff to evacuate the hospital," noting that the IDF has been "urging other Gazans, in Arabic, on the phone and via loudspeakers, to move away from the danger that Hamas puts them in — via a humanitarian corridor we opened for this purpose. For the purpose of protecting uninvolved civilians in Gaza.".