The Israeli army announced on Monday March 18 that it was carrying out “currently a targeted operation in the area of al-Chifa hospital”in Gaza City. “The operation is based on information indicating the use of the hospital by high-ranking Hamas terrorists”, says the army press release. On site, witnesses confirmed to AFP “air operations” on the al-Rimal neighborhood where the hospital is located, the largest in the Gaza Strip, in which people are said to have fallen “shrapnel”. Follow our live stream.
Tanks and armored vehicles in the neighborhood. Residents of this central neighborhood of Gaza City said that “more than 45 Israeli tanks and armored personnel carriers” had entered in al-Rimal. The press service of the Hamas government assures that “tens of thousands of people displaced” are located in al-Chifa hospital. Israeli troops received “instructions on the importance of operating with caution, as well as measures to take to avoid harm to patients, civilians, medical personnel”assures the Israeli army for its part.
Benjamin Netanyahu will not accept a deal making Israel “weak”. HAShen a possible truce in the Gaza Strip is currently being negotiated after more than five months of war, the Israeli Prime Minister spoke after a meeting with the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz. “If we are offered a deal, a path to peace that makes Israel weak and incapable of defending itself (…), that will set back peace,” said Benjamin Netanyahu.
No operation in Rafah immediately. The Israeli Prime Minister also assured Olaf Scholz that Israel would not launch a military operation in Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip, as long as the population was “locked in place”. In this city, nearly 1.5 million Palestinians are crowded together, according to the UN. Earlier today, however, he warned: “We will act in Rafah, it will take a few weeks, but it will happen,” according to a press release sent by his services.