(Jerusalem) The Israeli army said Thursday it had “credible intelligence” indicating that hostages kidnapped by Hamas were being held in the largest hospital in the south of the Gaza Strip, the scene of intense fighting in recent weeks.
“We have credible intelligence from various sources, including released hostages, indicating that Hamas held hostages at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis and that there may be bodies of hostages” there, the Israeli army said in a statement.
The Israeli military said it was carrying out a “targeted and limited operation” in this medical complex, the largest in southern Gaza, after weeks of intense bombings and clashes with Hamas fighters in the neighborhood.
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said on Wednesday he was “alarmed” by the reports coming from the Nasser hospital, which he described as “the backbone of the system of health in southern Gaza.
WHO has been denied access to the hospital in recent days and has lost contact with staff, he wrote on X.
According to the Hamas Ministry of Health, thousands of people, including patients, have had to leave the hospital where the situation is “catastrophic”, with staff being unable to evacuate bodies to the morgue due to a lack of resources. security in the complex.
Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari denied on Thursday that he wanted to evacuate the establishment. “We insisted that patients and staff were not required to evacuate the hospital,” he said, referring to recent discussions with medical officials.
“We do not seek to harm innocent civilians. We are trying to find our hostages and bring them home,” he insisted.
Earlier this week, the Israeli army carried out a commando operation in Rafah which freed two Israeli-Argentine hostages, Fernando Marman and Luis Har, kidnapped on October 7 in the Nir Yitzhak kibbutz, located on the Israeli side, but close to the towns of Khan Younes and Rafah.
Hamas captured nearly 250 hostages in this unprecedented attack on Israeli soil. A truce in November allowed the release of 105 of these hostages. Today there are 130 left in Gaza, of whom 29 are believed to have died, according to the Israeli army.