The officials said that Israeli troops arrested about 20 Hamas terrorists who were hiding inside a Khan Younis hospital in Gaza with the Jewish army assisted by medical staff who were waiting for an oxygen tank delivery.
The Israeli military reported on Saturday that several of the Israel Defense Forces' special units were sent to the Al-Amal Hospital last week after intelligence suggested that Hamas members were operating within the civilian space.
The Israeli troops were able to relocate and subdue the terrorists with the assistance of the Al-Amal Hospital staff without using any weapons or disrupting any medical procedures.
The military said in a statement that the operation once again proved the cynical modus operandi of the Hamas terror organization, which uses hospitals and the civilian population to hide terrorists. The military added that the Hamas terrorists were taken into custody and transported to Israel for interrogation.
The IDF worked with the Coordination and Liaison Administration for Gaza to deliver more than 20 oxygen tanks donated to the hospital after the arrests. It stated before the operation that its soldiers received training on "the importance of preventing harm to patients, medical staff, civilians, and medical equipment, by international law."
Al-Amal hospital, along with other medical facilities across Gaza, has been struggling to provide care for its patients as the conflict between Israel and Hamas has left tens of thousands of people injured.
According to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health, about 68,000 people have been injured by the war so far, with the death toll in Gaza surpassing 28,000.
The arrests in Al-Amal hospital were just some of the hundreds over the past week in Khan Younis, where fighting is still at its worst in the war.
Thousands of Palestinian refugees from the north have now moved even further south to Rafah after the IDF advanced through the main city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
Rafah, now Gaza's most populous city housing more than 1.4 million refugees, could see unprecedented levels of civilian casualties as the IDF prepares to invade it to destroy Hamas terrorists and identify the remaining 136 captives in Gaza.
Israeli Airstrikes Killed At Least 44 Palestinians in Rafah
On Saturday, Israeli airstrikes in Rafah killed at least 44 Palestinians, hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that an attack on the city was unavoidable and issued an order for a joint evacuation.
According to the Times of Israel, one of the strikes' primary targets was Ahmed Al-Yaaqoubi, a top Hamas police official, whose death was confirmed by the Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet.
The IDF claimed that Hamas military operative Iman Rantisi and another officer in Rafah's secret police department were also killed in the attack.
The Israeli Air Force allegedly published footage of the airstrike on the vehicle all three were traveling in.
In the last four months, many of Gaza's 2.3 million residents fled to the town near the Egyptian border after they were displaced by Israel's ground offensive on other parts of the tiny region.
