Day 179: After withdrawing from Shifa Hospital, IDF arrests dozen of terrorists at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis

During military operations in Khan Younis on Monday, Israel Defense Forces arrested dozens of terrorists attempting to leave al-Nasser Hospital. 

The IDF said that Commando Brigade forces completed searches in the al-Nasser and al-Amal hospitals in the southern Gaza Strip as part of an operation to prevent Hamas from establishing operations bases in the facilities, as they did at Shifa Hospital. 

The captured terrorists were handed over to the Israeli Security Agency (ISA - also called Shin Bet) and the Military Intelligence Directorate’s Unit 504 for interrogation. 

#NEW from @IDF: Troops continue operating in Al-Amal and the area of Khan Yunis, locating weapons and destroying terrorist infrastructure.

In the area of Khan Yunis, IDF troops located numerous weapons. During the activity, @IAFsite and engineering forces struck terrorist… pic.twitter.com/Zsn8PDcUzl

— Israel War Room (@IsraelWarRoom) April 3, 2024

The IDF has been putting substantial effort into preventing al-Nasser and al-Amal hospitals from becoming Hamas' command centers, as it did in northern Gaza's Shifa Hospital. On Monday, the IDF announced its withdrawal from Shifa after weeks of fighting, during which more than 200 terrorists were killed and over 800 suspects arrested. Approximately 500 of those suspects were later confirmed to be members of terror groups Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), an ally of Hamas.

On Sunday, the IDF announced that it had also targeted a PIJ operations headquarters at the al-Amal Hospital. 

Interviews with Hamas terrorists released by the IDF earlier in the war provided evidence that the terror groups have a policy of using hospitals for command centers because of Israel's policy to restrict attacks on medical facilities, in accordance with international war law. 

However, both the IDF and experts in military law have noted that hospitals may forfeit their protected status if used for combat. 

In other operations in Khan Younis, IDF soldiers located numerous weapons. During the activity, the Israel Air Force (IAF) and IDF engineering forces destroyed terror infrastructure and weapons storage facilities belonging to Hamas. 

In the al-Amal neighborhood, soldiers eliminated and apprehended a number of terrorists and located numerous weapons, including weapon parts, explosive devices and grenades. 

During close-quarters combat, soldiers eliminated a terrorist cell with a tank and close-range fire. 

Over the past day, IAF jets struck several tunnels and compounds rigged with explosives, as well as terror infrastructure such as weapons storage facilities and launch posts.