140 Palestinians killed in Israel's raid on Gaza's Shifa hospital

Jerusalem, March 22 (IANS) Israel's army continued its raid on Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza, claiming that its forces killed more than 140 people and arrested "senior Hamas officials".

Nearly 600 Palestinians have been apprehended, and more than 140 others have been killed, the army said on Thursday in a statement, claiming all of them are militants.

"Several weapons and intelligence documents" were discovered during searches in the hospital, according to the statement.

"Islamic Jihad operatives in the hospital complex surrendered themselves to the troops," the army added.

The army said that "senior officials" with Hamas, an armed group and movement that runs Gaza, and the Islamic Jihad, a smaller Palestinian militant group, were arrested, Xinhua news agency reported.

No end date for the operation was given.

"The forces are continuing to operate in and to search the area, locating weapons and apprehending terrorists in close-quarter encounters," the statement said.

The recent operation began early on Monday, with the Israeli forces attacking the compound in Gaza city with tanks and airstrikes.

On Thursday, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that Israeli forces blew up the specialised surgical building and that communication with all medical teams inside the medical complex was lost.

Shifa, which was Gaza's largest medical facility before the war, is now one of the few hospitals still functioning in the coastal enclave and also serving as a shelter for displaced Palestinians.

Israel has targeted the hospital before, claiming that Hamas used it as a command centre and hid weapons and fighters in underground tunnels underneath the complex.