Israeli troops kill 90 Hamas militants in raid on Al-Shifa hospital

IDF troops transport suspected Hamas militants from Al-Shifa hospital in the Gaza Strip with their hands tied and eyes closed

Israeli forces kill 90 Hamas militants militants and brought in at least 160 people for questioning during a two-day raid on Gaza City's largest hospital.

Two Israeli soldiers were reported killed during the operation at Al Shifa Hospital.

«Over the past day, troops eliminated terrorists and placed weapons on the hospital grounds, while preventing harm to civilians, patients, medical teams and medical equipment,» the Israeli military said.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Tuesday it had detained 300 suspects, including dozens it accuses of being militants from Hamas and the small Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad.

World The health organization condemned the attack on the hospital, saying it endangered patients and civilians sheltering there.

A reporter for Israel's Channel 13 posted a photo on social media late Tuesday showing Israeli soldiers placing dozens of blindfolded men in white coveralls on what appears to be the back of a truck.

Al Jazeera Arabic reporter who sheltered in a hospital and was released Tuesday afternoon in detention, said he and other Palestinians were forced to kneel, blindfolded and semi-naked for several hours.

Israel says it killed senior Hamas officer Faiq Mabhouh, head of his internal security forces, during clashes around the hospital.

Karim al-Shawwa, a Palestinian who lives less than a mile from the hospital, said the last 24 hours had been «horrifying» with explosions and heavy gunfire.

He said the IDF ordered residents to leave the area. but he and his family were too afraid of being arrested or involved in hostilities to leave their home.

IDF soldiers in the compound Al Shifa Hospital

Al-Shifa, which recently reopened after a serious attack last year, became the focus of a major Israeli operation earlier this week, despite Israeli claims it inflicted heavy casualties on all Hamas battalions in northern Gaza.

Were spotted Israeli tanks and bulldozers operating inside a large hospital complex and at least three buildings were destroyed in airstrikes.

Last November, Israel designated al-Shifa as a Hamas command center, indicating a tunnel leading to the underground premises and a number of weapons found in the premises. However, the evidence is inconsistent with suggestions that it could be the nerve center of a terrorist group.

< p>Meanwhile, more than 2,000 tonnes of British food aid has flown into Gaza and is being distributed by the UN World Food Program to help ease crippling food shortages, the Foreign Office said on Wednesday morning.

The delivery includes wheat. the flour will be used in bakeries, hot meals and ready-to-eat food parcels for more than 275,000 people in the Gaza Strip.

Earlier this week, the UN warned that between now and the end of Gaza, imminent famine. end of May.