Health authorities in the Gaza Strip, controlled by the Islamist group Hamas, said on November 16 that bulldozers had been deployed to the Al-Shifa hospital in northern Gaza, which Israeli forces had stormed the previous day.

“Israeli bulldozers destroyed part of the southern entrance to the hospital,” Gaza health authorities said in an Arabic statement.

The Israeli army told AFP it was conducting operations inside the hospital grounds.

“Tonight we carried out a targeted operation at Shifa hospital. We are continuing to advance,” Major General Yaron Finkelman, Israel’s head of military operations in Gaza, said on the army’s Telegram channel.

The Israeli military’s storming of Shifa Hospital on the 15th has sparked serious concern and criticism around the world.

A journalist holed up inside the hospital told AFP that Israeli troops fired rounds into the compound and ordered Palestinian youths to surrender. By evening, Israeli forces had withdrawn and redeployed around the hospital.

Shifa hospital is currently at the center of the conflict, which has been ongoing for 40 days since Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on the 7th of last month.

Israel and its ally the United States claim that Hamas has a headquarters in the basement of Shifa hospital, a charge denied by Hamas and hospital officials.

The Israeli army also claimed it found “military equipment and weapons” inside the hospital during an operation on Wednesday, a claim denied by Gaza health officials.