Al Shifa Hospital: The Latest Battlefield in the Israel-Hamas Conflict Unveiled

Al Shifa Hospital, the largest hospital in the Gaza Strip, was targeted by Israeli forces on Wednesday. Both Israel and the United States have accused Hamas militants of using hospitals in Gaza to hide command posts and hostages through underground tunnels. Hamas, the ruling party in Gaza since 2007, has constructed an extensive tunnel network beneath the region, reaching depths of up to 80 meters.

Hamas, as well as health authorities and directors of Shifa Hospital, have denied allegations of concealing military infrastructure within or below the hospital. They have expressed willingness to allow international inspections to verify their claims.

The sprawling complex of Al Shifa Hospital is located a few hundred meters from Gaza City’s fishing port, between the Beach refugee camp and the Rimal neighborhood. Its name, “Shifa,” is derived from the Arabic word for “healing,” a common naming convention for hospitals in the Middle East.

As of Tuesday, the hospital was caring for 36 babies, with no clear means of evacuation despite Israeli efforts to supply incubators. Tragically, three of the original 39 premature babies have already died due to a lack of fuel to power the hospital’s generators.

Al Shifa Hospital was built in 1946 during British rule, surviving the Egyptian invasion in 1948 and two decades of Egyptian military rule. It became a focal point for Palestinians even before Hamas, with many Palestinians being taken there during clashes with Israeli troops after Israel captured and occupied the Gaza Strip in 1967.

During the 1980s, the hospital complex underwent renovations and redesigns by Israeli architects, reportedly with the support of American aid. Zvi Elhyani, the founder of the Israel Architecture Archive, claimed that a subterranean concrete floor was installed during this process, which has allegedly been appropriated by Hamas in recent years. However, no evidence was provided to support this claim.

Control over Al Shifa Hospital shifted from the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority to Hamas after the 2006 election victory and subsequent 2007 military takeover by Hamas. During the power struggle between Fatah and Hamas leading up to the takeover, fighters from both sides were treated at Shifa and other hospitals as part of a truce to refrain from harming each other’s wounded.

Israel has previously accused Hamas of using underground areas in Shifa Hospital to hide during the 2008-2009 war, but these claims could not be independently verified.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)