A military statement described an operation coordinated by the Shayetted 13, Duwdewan and Nahal units that “conducted a selective attack on the hospital building (al-Shifa) where the terrorists were found”.
According to the document, Hamas deputy commander of rocket operations, Mahmoud Halil Zagzouk, was in the emergency room, maternity ward, where soldiers killed Fadi Duik and Zakaria, who helped carry out the 2002 West Bank attacks. Najib was convicted in the 1994 kidnapping and murder of Israeli soldier Nachon Wachsman.
The names add to the death of Hamas chief Raed Thabet last Thursday at Al-Shifa Hospital.
In total, more than 200 Hamas fighters have already been killed in the military operation that began on March 18, according to Israeli military data.
In addition, nearly 1,000 people were arrested, half of whom Israel says are linked to “Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad,” marking the fourth time it has attacked the medical center. The Israeli military admitted to killing two Palestinians and wounding a third on the Gaza Strip this Saturday.
The army said it had excavated and buried their bodies after the Al Jazeera television channel released a video on Wednesday.
According to Israeli forces, the men ignored the warning signs. The origin of the video and the date of the incident are unknown. Al Jazeera said at least two of the three people seen in the footage waved white flags before being shot.
For its part, the Israeli military edited the video and depicted two separate incidents in central Gaza, explaining that the two dead were carrying suitcases, although they were not visible in the footage, and that the wounded man was released after questioning.
Al Jazeera highlighted that the people in the video were trying to return to their homes in northern Gaza, where they were displaced at the start of the conflict on October 7, 2023.
Almost six months after the start of the war, which was sparked by an unprecedented attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas against Israel, the Israeli military launched fresh attacks in the Gaza Strip, killing at least 82 people in the past 24 hours. According to data from Hamas-controlled authorities, the number of Palestinians killed since the beginning of the conflict is 32,705.