Jordanian Army Accuses Israel of Damaging Hospital

FILE PHOTO: Smoke rises as displaced Palestinians take shelter at Al Shifa hospital, amid the ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel, in Gaza City, November 8, 2023. REUTERS/Doaa Rouqa/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Smoke rises as displaced Palestinians take shelter at Al Shifa hospital, amid the ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel, in Gaza City, November 8, 2023. REUTERS/Doaa Rouqa/File Photo
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Jordanian Army Accuses Israel of Damaging Hospital

FILE PHOTO: Smoke rises as displaced Palestinians take shelter at Al Shifa hospital, amid the ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel, in Gaza City, November 8, 2023. REUTERS/Doaa Rouqa/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Smoke rises as displaced Palestinians take shelter at Al Shifa hospital, amid the ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel, in Gaza City, November 8, 2023. REUTERS/Doaa Rouqa/File Photo

The Jordanian army accused Israel on Wednesday of damaging a Jordanian field hospital in the Gaza Strip and wounding two people during bombardments of the territory.

The hospital in Khan Yunis, the biggest city in southern Gaza, was severely damaged due to nearby Israeli bombing overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday, the military said in a statement.

It came amid Israel's war against Hamas, which was sparked by the Palestinian militant group's unprecedented attack on Israel in October.

The bombing wounded a hospital medic in the right thigh and hand, the army said, and the medic would be evacuated by air to Jordan for medical treatment, AFP reported.

A Gazan civilian receiving treatment in the intensive care unit "was also injured by shrapnel and a bullet during the aggression", the statement said, citing a senior military source.

"The Jordanian armed forces hold Israel fully responsible for the safety of hospital staff," it said, adding that the strikes were a "flagrant violation" of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Convention.

It urged Israel, "the occupying power", to not take "any measures that prevent or hinder medical personnel from carrying out their duties".

The statement said the hospital would "continue to perform its medical and humanitarian duty".

Hospitals have been hit repeatedly during the conflict.

In December, Gaza's health ministry reported damage from a strike at the sprawling tent compound that makes up the Jordanian field hospital in Khan Yunis.

Another Jordanian field hospital in the north of Gaza was hit by an Israeli strike in mid-November, wounding seven staff.

The Royal Jordanian Air Force has conducted seven airdrops over Gaza since the beginning of the war.

Six airdrops delivered medical supplies for the field hospital and one for Palestinians besieged in a church in the north of Gaza.



Israel Says It Captured Weapons from Iran Being Smuggled to West Bank

An Israeli soldier holds a weapon during an Israeli raid, in Al-Faraa camp near Tubas, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, November 27, 2024. (Reuters)
An Israeli soldier holds a weapon during an Israeli raid, in Al-Faraa camp near Tubas, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, November 27, 2024. (Reuters)
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Israel Says It Captured Weapons from Iran Being Smuggled to West Bank

An Israeli soldier holds a weapon during an Israeli raid, in Al-Faraa camp near Tubas, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, November 27, 2024. (Reuters)
An Israeli soldier holds a weapon during an Israeli raid, in Al-Faraa camp near Tubas, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, November 27, 2024. (Reuters)

Israeli authorities say they seized a large cache of weapons originating in Iran and bound for Palestinian fighters in the West Bank.

A joint statement from the military and Israel’s Shin Bet internal security agency on Wednesday said the cache included rockets, explosives, mortar launchers, sniper rifles and other weapons. They released photos purporting to show the weapons.

The statement did not say where the seizure took place, and the military did not respond to a request for comment.

The statement identified two units of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, one purportedly based in Syria, that it said were responsible for the smuggling, and named their commanders. It did not provide further evidence of Iran’s involvement.

Israel has carried out near-daily military raids in the occupied West Bank in recent years, targeting what it says are militants planning attacks.

The violence spiked after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack ignited the war in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian Health Ministry says nearly 800 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank since then. There has also been a rise in Palestinian attacks on Israelis.

Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war, territories the Palestinians want for a future state.