Combined ground and air assets of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) eliminated a heavily armed terror cell that opened fire Monday from Al-Quds Hospital in Gaza City.
The 21-member cell had started shooting at troops of the 188th Armored Brigade with light arms and RPGs, while being “embedded within a group of civilians at the entrance of the hospital.”
The IDF set out in a statement what happened next:
The soldiers identified a terrorist squad with two RPG launchers amongst the civilians. As a result of the shooting carried out by the terrorists, a tank was damaged. The soldiers fired toward the terrorists. During the exchange of fire, civilians were seen leaving the hospital building, and other terrorists who came out of adjacent buildings hid among them and joined the attempted attack. After the terrorists fired RPGs, they returned to hide in the hospital.
The combat team of the 188th Brigade, which included armored, engineering, infantry troops and with the assistance of the Air Force, responded with fire and fired shells toward the sources of the fire.
During the incident, approximately 21 terrorists were killed and there were no casualties to our forces.This incident is another example of Hamas’ continued abuse of civilian structures, including hospitals, to carry out attacks.
Vision of the start and conclusion of the firefight can be seen below via IDF social media:
The IDF concluded its statement by affirming that Hamas terrorist cells using hospitals in Gaza as cover for their operations is not new, saying “This incident is another example of Hamas’ continued abuse of civilian structures, including hospitals, to carry out attacks.”
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The incident came as the European Union (E.U.) said it recognises Israel’s right to defend itself while calling on Hamas terrorists to release hostages and stop using “hospitals and civilians as human shields,” as Breitbart News reported.
Josep Borrell, the E.U.’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, issued a statement on Monday morning on behalf of the bloc’s 27 member states condemning Hamas for the use of “human shields,” saying that as international law demands, hospitals “must be protected.”