Fighting raged on Saturday around Gaza's main hospital where Israel says it has so far killed more than 170 gunmen in an extensive raid.
The hospital is being used by the Hamas as an operations center
Fighting raged on Saturday around Gaza's main hospital where Israel says it has so far killed more than 170 gunmen in an extensive raid.
The armed wing of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad said their fighters were engaged in battles with the Israeli forces outside and around the vicinity of Al Shifa hospital in Gaza City, though Hamas denies any presence inside the facility.
Israeli troops stormed Al Shifa in the early hours of Monday morning and have been combing through the sprawling complex, which the military says is connected to a tunnel network used as a base for Hamas and other Palestinian fighters.
The Israeli military said that more than 350 Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants have so far been detained at the hospital and a total of 800 people have been questioned.
In recent days, Hamas spokespeople have said that the dead announced in previous Israeli statements were not fighters but patients and displaced people.
The Hamas only spreads false information. It's their propaganda weapon.
By Nidal al-Mughrabi, Bassam and Masoud
Israel is reeling from a growing political scandal dubbed "Qatargate", involving close advisers to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accused of accepting funds from Qatar — a nation that plays a dual role as mediator in the Israel-Hamas conflict and host to Hamas leadership.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu begins a four-day visit to Hungary on Thursday, defying an International Criminal Court arrest warrant over allegations of war crimes in Gaza as Israel has expanded its military operation in the enclave.
Israel announced a major expansion of military operations in Gaza on Wednesday, saying large areas of the enclave would be seized and added to its security zones, accompanied by large-scale evacuation of population.
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