The Israeli military announced today that it had successfully completed a major operation targeting Hamas in the northern Gaza region, specifically at the Kamal Adwan Hospital and its surrounding areas.
Approximately 240 individuals suspected of being involved in terrorist activities were apprehended during the operation, including the hospital’s director and 15 individuals linked to the October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF), which had previously conducted an operation at Kamal Adwan in October, explained that this latest operation was necessary because the hospital had become a significant base for terrorist groups and was still being used as a hideout by Hamas operatives.
The IDF stated that, despite repeated warnings, Hamas continued to use the hospital for military purposes. “The hospital was still used by Hamas despite repeated calls to refrain from allowing [terror operatives] to exploit hospitals for military activities,” the military explained.
The operation was carried out by the IDF’s 162nd Division. Initially, the 401st Armored Brigade surrounded the hospital, arresting several suspected terrorists and neutralizing additional gunmen. Subsequently, members of the Navy’s Shayetet 13 commando unit conducted precise operations inside the hospital, where they discovered and seized weapons, including grenades, handguns, ammunition, and other military gear.
In total, over 240 individuals believed to be affiliated with Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and other terrorist groups were detained during the operation. Some of the suspects attempted to disguise themselves as patients or medical staff, while others tried to flee using ambulances.
The IDF reported that among those arrested was Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan, who is suspected of being a Hamas member. The Hamas-run health ministry also confirmed his detention, but an Instagram post attributed to him denied the arrest, stating, “All that is being circulated about Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya being arrested is false news,” and adding, “Thank God he is fine, but the communications and network are very bad.”
At least 15 of those detained were identified as participants in the deadly October 7 attack. Several operatives from Hamas’s engineering and anti-tank units were also captured. The suspects are being interrogated by field operatives from the Military Intelligence Directorate’s Unit 504 and the Shin Bet security agency. Many of them reportedly admitted to engaging in terrorist activities in the hospital’s vicinity.
During the operation, Hamas operatives launched RPGs and anti-tank projectiles at IDF forces positioned near the hospital, but no Israeli personnel were injured. The assailants responsible for these attacks were killed. Additionally, a drone strike targeted and eliminated a group of gunmen who attempted to flee the area.
Prior to initiating the operation, the IDF ensured the safe evacuation of 350 patients, medical staff, and caregivers to other hospitals. This effort was coordinated by the Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT).
In the weeks leading up to the operation, the IDF had delivered essential supplies, including tens of thousands of liters of fuel, food, and medical resources, to Kamal Adwan. During the raid, another 95 patients, staff, and caregivers were moved to the nearby Indonesian Hospital, which received 5,000 liters of fuel, two generators, and other medical equipment to maintain critical services. Hundreds of Palestinian civilians also left the hospital via designated evacuation routes.
The IDF rejected claims from Hamas that Israeli forces had set the hospital on fire. Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an IDF spokesperson, clarified, “While IDF troops were not in the hospital, a small fire broke out in an empty building inside the hospital that is under control,” further noting that a preliminary investigation found “no connection” between the military’s activities and the fire.
Hamas’s health ministry had accused the IDF of causing fires in multiple areas of the hospital, including the laboratory and surgery department, and claimed that 25 patients and 60 healthcare workers remained inside. They also alleged that Israeli troops had removed patients and staff from the hospital and forced them to strip in cold weather. Unverified social media footage showed patients and medical personnel being marched outside in front of IDF tanks.
The IDF had previously conducted operations at Kamal Adwan in late October, capturing several terror operatives and dismantling weapons caches and other terrorist infrastructure. At that time, the IDF released a video showing an interrogation of a detained individual, who claimed that Hamas used ambulances to transport operatives around the hospital. “Hamas military operatives are present. They are in the courtyards, at the gates of the buildings, in the offices,” the individual said. “They operate ambulances to transport their wounded military operatives and to transport them for their missions.” The detainee also expressed frustration with the situation, saying, “We, the public in the northern Gaza Strip, are sick of this situation. We have had enough; they [Hamas] are stationed in the hospitals, stationed in the schools.”
{Matzav.com Israel}
