STORMING IN
Israel advances on ANOTHER Hamas ‘terror HQ’ hospital after tunnels found under al-Shifa facility & 31 babies evacuated
The premature babies arrived in Egypt in a convoy of ambulances on Monday
ISRAELI tanks have surrounded another hospital in Gaza where the IDF alleges Hamas brutes are using civilians as human shields.
The siege at the Indonesian Hospital comes after 31 premature babies were evacuated from the city's largest hospital, al-Shifa, beneath which Israel purports an elaborate web of tunnels exists.
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Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry claims Israeli forces struck the Indonesian Hospital on Monday, killing at least 12 people including patients.
Dozens more were said to have been wounded and 700 left trapped inside the "besieged" medical centre, according to a spokesman for the health ministry, Ashraf al-Qudra.
Israel has argued its forces are targeting "terror infrastructure" while Hamas denies using Gazan medical facilities for cover.
The general manager of Gaza's health ministry Munner al-Bursh claimed on Monday morning that Israeli forces were continuing their attack on the Indonesian Hospital.
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He told Al Jazeera that Israeli artillery started in the middle of the night, wounding doctors and killing 12 civilians.
About 700 patients and 5,000 refugees are based inside the hospital, and some 10,000 in shelters around it, Mr al-Bursh claimed.
Like most health facilities in the north of Gaza, the Indonesian Hospital has largely ceased operations and is being used predominantly as a refuge.
Al Jazeera’s Anas al-Sharif said: "There is an overwhelming state of panic among patients. Victims are piling up on the floor."
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Israeli attacks on the Indonesian Hospital were condemned by Indonesia’s foreign minister Retno Marsudi, who called the advance a "clear violation of international humanitarian laws".
She added: "All countries, especially those that have close relations with Israel, must use all their influence and capabilities to urge Israel to stop its atrocities."
Meanwhile, 28 babies have been rescued from al-Shifa and transported over the Rafah border to safety in Egypt.
The babies arrived in a convoy of ambulances from Gaza on Monday, according to Egyptian media.
Thirty-one babies were yesterday said to be headed from al-Shifa to Emirati Hospital in the southern city of Rafah.
Two babies stayed at the Emirati's ICU unit and a third baby was not transferred to Egypt as his parents are in northern Gaza, reports.
Israel alleges Hamas terrorists are operating a sprawling command centre beneath al-Shifa Hospital.
New footage recorded with a remote camera appears to show a spiral staircase plunging down 20 feet to a massive "fortified" tunnel.
Israel said the clips proved Hamas is using al-Shifa to hide foreign hostages and conceal its tunnels.
It released further "proof" in the form of shocking CCTV video which appeared to show severely wounded Israeli citizens being hauled by Hamas terrorists into al-Shifa on stretchers.
The two male hostages, a Nepalese civilian and a Thai civilian, were said to have been kidnapped from Israeli territory.
IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari told reporters: "We have not yet located both of these hostages."
Palestinian families have been caught in the brutal crossfire of Israel's retaliation attacks on Hamas after the terror group murdered 1,200 Israeli men, women, and children last month.
Israel has claimed Hamas is attempting to use innocent civilians as "human shields".
The Red Cross estimates some 1.5 million civilians have been forced to flee south amid Israel's onslaught from land, air, and sea.
Hamas' health officials claim more than 11,000 civilians, including 4,500 children, have been killed in the conflict - though these figures remain unverified and are disputed by Israel.
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US President Joe Biden said he had "no confidence" in the numbers.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu iterated the deaths must be blamed on Hamas, but admitted Israel had "not been successful" in reducing civilian casualties.
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