Israeli forces are raiding Gaza’s biggest hospital, Al-Shifa, in what the military says is a “precise and targeted operation.” A journalist there said tanks had entered the hospital courtyard and troops were searching buildings and interrogating young men.
Israel has claimed the hospital includes a Hamas Command Center, an allegation denied by hospital officials and Hamas. The two sides claims cannot verified. Hundreds of patients and staff remain inside Al-Shifa, according to hospital officials.
The operation comes amid Israel’s escalating ground offensive in Gaza, aimed at destroying Hamas. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant claimed on Tuesday that Hamas had lost control in northern Gaza, including in Gaza City.
UN trucks are expected to bring fuel Wednesday into the Gaza Strip for the first time since Hamas’ October 7 attacks on Israel, a US official told Newsmen. A UN agency warned its Aid Operation would cease soon if fuel was not allowed into the enclave.
Meanwhile, around 23,000 liters (6,078 gallons) of fuel from Egypt were delivered to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to be used only for transporting aid from Rafah, the organisation’s director in Gaza, Thomas White, said on X.
“Just received 23,027 [liters] of fuel from Egypt (half a tanker) – but its use has been restricted by Israeli authorities – only for transporting aid from Rafah,” White wrote. “No fuel for water or hospitals.”
“This is only 9% of what we need daily to sustain lifesaving activities,” he added.
The truck carrying the fuel crossed the border from Egypt into Gaza on Wednesday morning, a CNN stringer at the Rafah border crossing saw. It’s the first truck to carry fuel into the Gaza Strip since Israel imposed a blockade on the strip following Hamas’ attack on October 7.
Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), a government agency that liaises with Palestinians on civilian affairs, said earlier that UN trucks transporting humanitarian equipment from the Rafah crossing into the southern Gaza Strip will be refueled at the crossing Wednesday.
