Israeli Forces kill Hamas internal security officer in battle in hospital

The Hamas figure killed during the raid was identified as Faiq Mabhuoch, head of the Operations Directorate of Hamas's Internal Security. Mabhuoh was also responsible for coordinating Hamas terror activities in the Gaza Strip.

Faiq Mabhouh was eliminated in an encounter with the troops while armed and hiding in a compound at the Shifa hospital, from which he oversaw terror activity. Numerous weapons were located in the room adjacent to where he was eliminated.

Mabouh's brother, Mahmoud, procured weapons for Hamas before he was assassinated in Dubai in 2010. The assassination was widely attributed to the Mossad, Israel's intelligence service.

Israeli troops raided Shifa, Gaza's largest hospital, the predawn hours, after receiving intelligence that senior Hamas figures were inside the compound planning attacks. Hamas terrorists fired from inside medical center as the forces arrived. One soldier was killed, identified as 20-year-old Staff Sgt. Matan Vinogradov.

Footage released by the military showed Hamas gunmen shooting from the hospital compound, as well as a roadside bomb exploding by an Israeli armored vehicle.

The IDF added that at least 80 terrorists were arrested, and that there were no indications of hostages inside the facility.

The IDF said that before the operation, soldiers were instructed on the importance of operating cautiously and avoiding harm to the patients, civilians, medical staff, and medical equipment. In addition, the army brought Arabic speakers to facilitate dialogue with the patients remaining in the hospital.

The IDF stressed that there is no obligation for the patients or medical staff to evacuate and that soldiers are providing food, water and medical supplies to patients and civilians in the Shifa compound.

According to IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, 85% of Gaza's hospitals have been used by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad for terror.

In December, Ahmed Kahlot, director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip, confirmed to Israeli interrogators that he and other staff were Hamas operatives.

During the interrogation, Kahlot described how Hamas used hospitals and ambulances to hide operatives, launch military activity, transport members of terror squads and even deliver a kidnapped Israeli soldier.

Other Gazans have told Israeli interrogators deeply embedded themselves in the Palestinian Red Crescent Society to use hospitals as a base for attacks.

As reported by the Tazpit Press Service, Hamas has made extensive use of the Shifa Hospital, launching rockets from its compound, hiding hostages in the bowels of the building, torturing collaborators, and digging tunnels connected to nearby sites. Israel also released a recording of a phone call confirming that Hamas also stores at least a half-million liters of fuel underneath the compound.

At least 1,200 people were killed and 240 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas's attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the remaining 134 hostages, Israel recently declared 31 of them dead. (ANI/TPS)