Israeli military withdraws from Shifa Hospital amid protesters calling for Benjamin Netanyahu’s removal
The Israeli military withdrew from Gaza’s largest hospital after two weeks of “close-quarter” fighting in which it claimed hundreds of militants were killed or arrested.
Military spokesperson Daniel Hagari claimed that 200 Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters were killed, 900 were arrested and £2.4m in foreign currency and weapons were seized during the assault on Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza.
Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to “destroy” Hamas and press ahead with a ground offensive in Rafah, southern Gaza, despite thousands of protesters calling for his removal in recent days.
Israel has accused Hamas of using hospitals for military purposes and has raided several medical facilities. Health officials in Gaza deny those allegations.
More than 20 patients died and hundreds were trapped inside the hospital during the raid, according to the World Health Organisation.
Meanwhile, Syrian authorities said an Israeli strike destroyed the Iranian consulate building in Damascus, killing and wounding several people.
Pictures showed smoke and dust rising from the multi-storey building, which was next to the Iranian embassy on a highway in the western Mezzeh district
Reports said the strike killed Iranian military adviser General Ali Reza Zahdi, who led the elite Quds Force in Lebanon and Syria until 2016.
Mr Netanyahu said on Sunday that nothing would stop Israel’s offensive into Rafah, which aid agencies have claimed would cause a humanitarian catastrophe.
He said: “Nothing will stop us, once we do that [evacuate civilians], not American pressure and nothing else. If we do not destroy those battalions of Hamas there we cannot actually win because otherwise it is an existential threat against the state of Israel.”
The speech was made as protesters gathered in Jerusalem to urge the government to reach a deal to free dozens of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.
The crowd of protesters stretched for blocks around the Knesset, or parliament building, and organisers vowed to continue the demonstration for several days.
They urged the government to cancel an upcoming parliamentary recess and to hold new elections nearly two years ahead of schedule.
Demonstrator Einav Moses, whose father-in-law Gadi Moses is held hostage, said: “After six months, it seems like the government understands that Bibi Netanyahu is an obstacle.
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