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Israel’s War 2023
Harrowing video shows Palestinian civilians being shot at – apparently by Hamas snipers – as they tried to flee a pediatric cancer hospital where terrorists barricaded themselves to resist the ongoing ground assault by the Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip.
Pictures posted on On Friday, families were seen walking down a side street waving white flags before gunshots were heard, prompting the crowd to take cover as a child was heard crying.
Media intelligence agency Storyful confirmed the video was recorded at al-Nasr Pediatric Hospital based on Google Maps images, but was unable to say whether the terrorist group or Israeli forces were responsible.
Independent journalist Alexander Higgins reported on that jihadists began shooting after Israeli forces agreed to allow civilians to evacuate the hospital.
The Israeli military has surrounded the facility — which it says also serves as a terrorist citadel — as it attempts to root out Hamas in response to its Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel that killed more than of 1,400 people, including 33 Americans.
The video emerged a day after the White House said Israel had agreed to daily humanitarian pauses to allow non-combatants out of the line of fire.
Israel has repeatedly implored civilians to move south as its forces continue their siege of northern parts of Gaza.
“We were carrying white flags and when we came out, we passed the tanks,” Baqr Qaoud, the hospital director, told the Washington Post. “I was a few feet away from one.”
As Qaoud passed, he said, he saw the tanks approaching the building.
The World Health Organization reported that the hospital was suffering from “significant bombardment” by Israeli airstrikes, and the Hamas-run Health Ministry later claimed that the building caught fire after a direct impact.
Inside, a person who identified themselves as a hospital staff member requested help online, saying they were surrounded.
“We are blocked inside the hospital by tanks and are exposed to heavy fire against us,” it read online, according to Reuters.
“We have no electricity, no oxygen for patients, no fresh water. The situation here is very difficult and dangerous.
“As the world sees neighborhoods with schools, hospitals, scout groups, children’s playgrounds and mosques, Hamas sees this as an opportunity to exploit,” the Israeli military said.
Gaza officials said Israel had struck al-Shifa hospital five times since Thursday evening.
At least one shell fell in the courtyard of the building, where the World Health Organization reported “intense violence”.
The Palestinian Red Crescent also reported that Israeli forces were shooting at al-Quds hospital, sparking violent clashes.
Despite Israel’s evacuation warnings, Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Ashrat al-Qidra says it has been impossible to empty hospitals.
“We are talking about 45 babies in incubators, 52 children in intensive care units, hundreds of wounded and patients – and tens of thousands of displaced people,” al-Qidra said of the population of al-Shifa.
The Health Ministry said 18 of 35 hospitals and 40 other health centers are without services due to bomb damage and lack of fuel.
With post wires
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