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Israel Attacks Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2023-11-15
Israel attacked the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City Wednesday morning. News reports of the attack are below. Author’s best estimate of what, where and why are given.
Please note that this diary is intended as a news report, and not an analysis or opinion piece. A poll is at the end.
The Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City was attacked by Israel Wednesday morning around 4 am Gaza time. Shifa is the largest and best equipped hospital in Gaza. It is spread out over 4 contiguous city blocks and consists of many buildings. It has been at the focus of news reports for the past week.
News reports from Al Jazeera, CNN, Reuters and the Times of Israel were reviewed, as they were between 10 am to 1 pm Gaza Time (which is when this diary was written). (Links for Al Jazeera and Reuters are substantially different from what was used, and contain more dramatic claims from the Palestinians. Apologies, but original links lost when computer crashed.) Al Jazeera reported the largest amount of destruction. The Time of Israel reported the most military details. (Statements from the Hamas controlled Gaza Health Ministry, including later ones from this Hamas controlled hospital, and the Israeli Prime Minister are not reported herein, as they were so far from the other reports as not to be believable, at least to this author. Note that the Times of Israel link says the PM is believed by only 4 percent of Israeli’s.)
The attack occurred on the western side of the hospital complex as shown in the diagram at the end of the diary. Israel said it was a precise, targeted attack to a specific area of the hospital, and that their soldiers knew exactly where they were going.
Israel said that they gave the hospital a 12 hour warning, which is the time required by international law. A doctor in the hospital said he received only a 30 minute warning. Exactly what happened is impossible to say without having more information.
The attack began with Israel encountering explosives and Hamas soldiers, of whom they killed at least 5. Then, the IDF soldiers entered one or more of the hospital buildings (details not provided). Soldiers are said to have encountered doctors and patients, but there was no friction. Soldiers found weapons and other evidence of the presence of Hamas fighters, which justifies Israel’s attack under international law. There were some fights and explosions reported, but unclear if these occurred inside or outside the hospital. There are no reports of what, if anything, was underground. Israel looked for hostages, but didn’t find any (which would be just in the areas they entered).
Israel also delivered incubators. nursery supplies, and medical supplies to the hospital.
Reports are uncertain if Israel will remain in the hospital or leave.
The author’s best estimate of what, where and why follows using the diagrams below.
Since this is a targeted attack to a specific area of the hospital by Israel, the highest value military target is Hamas’ headquarters (HQ) as shown in the diagrams. The HQ are close to the western side of the complex, with only a parking lot and the out-patient clinic separating them from the street.
Israel would want to search the HQ for intelligence before making it unable to operate by destroying it.
Israel would most likely have entered the hospital grounds thru the parking lot adjacent to the out-patient clinic, and then entered the building with the underground HQ from either the rear, or the side or both. (They may have entered from the front but people are sleeping in front of this building.)
As of this diary, Israel is still inside the buildings. Further information will likely emerge during the day, and after this diary has been written.
IDF Graphic of What is Underground of Al-Shifa Hospital. The headquarters, called Command and Control Center, is enlarged at lower left. (The function of headquarters is command and control.) The yellow C in the middle is where the car was parked when it was hit by a flying object on November 10.
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