ISRAELI forces wiped out a Hamas terror cell in a Gaza hospital as they used patients as human shields to try and escape.
The IDF today said troops were fired at by Hamas fighters from the entrance of Al Quds hospital as they "embedded" themselves among civilians.
Israeli forces returned fire, claiming to have taken out 21 terrorists in the attack.
An IDF statement read: "RPG fire and small arms fire were directed at the soldiers from the direction of the al Quds Hospital in Gaza City.
"The shooting was carried out by a terrorist squad that had embedded itself within a group of civilians at the entrance of the hospital.
"During the incident, approximately 21 terrorists were killed and there were no casualties to our forces."
It did not confirm or deny whether any civilians were killed during the fighting.
Israel claims that as civilians fled the building Hamas militants came out of nearby buildings and his among them in order to attack the Israeli forces.
The Al Shifa hospital, the largest in Gaza City, has also come under fire amid IDF war efforts in the Strip and has become a focal point in the war.
Scores of IDF troops and tanks surrounded the Al Shifa hospital today amid growing fears for the hundreds of civilians trapped inside.
Like Al Quds, it has stopped accepting new patients after its fuel has completely run out and patients are struggling without enough food, water or medical supplies.
The Israeli military believes terror group Hamas' main command centre is located under the Al Shifa hospital complex and senior leaders of the group are hiding there, using the facility as a shield as they did with Al Quds.
The EU condemned Hamas on Sunday for using "hospitals and civilians as human shields" in the besieged enclave, but also urged Israel to show "maximum restraint" and protect civilians.
Dozens of newborn babies who were kept on incubators are trapped in Al Shifa, sharing regular beds without the right neo-natal care as the centre is without fuel and electricity.
World Health Organisation (WHO) chief Ghebreyesu said in a Twitter post on Sunday that "the hospital is not functioning as a hospital anymore".
It is not yet known whether the IDF plans to storm the hospital in a ground raid.
Surgeon Dr Mokhallalati told Reuters today: "The tanks are in front of the hospital. We are under full blockade. It’s a totally civilian area.
"Only hospital facility, hospital patients, doctors and other civilians staying in the hospital. Someone should stop this."
Days ago Israel claimed to have killed a Hamas commander who held a thousand terrified Palestinian civilians hostage inside a children's hospital.
And Gaza's Indonesia hospital was hit in an alleged Israel strike days ago as the IDF carried out "pressure cooker" bombings.
But the IDF said it did not target the hospital or any civilians ahead of the explosion.
Hamas and hospital staff deny the claim that a terror command cell is hidden in tunnels underneath the Al Shifa facility and say the Israeli military is using a pretext to strike it.
Israel revealed photographs, diagrams and audio recordings to show how Hamas was using the centre to hide a variety of command posts and entry points into the extensive tunnel network under Gaza.
Hamas has a mysterious 311-mile maze of tunnels riddled with traps that sprawl underground in the Strip.
The IDF claims to have so far destroyed at least 130 tunnel entrances since the war erupted just over a month ago.
Hidden up to 100ft below the surface, the entrances are enclosed under the floors of homes, mosques and schools - allowing fighters to move unseen between homes and alleyways within Gaza.
It is used by the warped group to transport people and goods as well as store rocks and ammunition.
According to the IDF, Hamas has lost control of northern Gaza after claiming to have "divided the enclave" in two.
It continues to hunt down terrorist strongholds in Gaza, including one crucial Hamas cell they captured last week after a bloody ten-hour gunfight.
Today Israeli forces released footage of an underwater mission where they claim to have recovered weapons left by Hamas following the October 7 onslaught.
Firearms, explosives and ammunition were found on the seabed.
Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry claims over 11,000 people have been killed throughout the bloody conflict but questions have been raised about the accuracy of the fatality figures.
Israel says Hamas killed over 1,200 people in their attacks on October 7.
