Palestinians say Israeli troops have withdrawn from Gaza’s al-Shifa Hospital after 2-week raid

Smoke rises during an Israeli raid at al-Shifa hospital and the area around it, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Gaza City on March 21, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Palestinian residents say the Israeli military has withdrawn from Gaza’s main hospital after a two-week raid, leaving behind a vast swath of destruction. Hundreds of people returned to al-Shifa Hospital and the surrounding area after the withdrawal on April 1, where they found bodies inside and outside of the facility.

The military has described the raid as one of the most successful operations of the nearly six-month war, saying it killed scores of Hamas and other militants, as well as seizing valuable intelligence.

Mohammed Mahdi, who was among those who returned, described a scene of “total destruction.” He said several buildings had been burned down. He counted six bodies in the area, including two in the hospital courtyard.

Another resident, Yahia Abu Auf, said there were still patients, medical workers and displaced people sheltering inside the medical compound. He said several patients had been taken to the nearby Ahli Hospital. He said army bulldozers had plowed over a makeshift cemetery inside the hospital compound.