The death toll from an ongoing Israeli raid on Gaza's Al-Shifa hospital has climbed to 140, the invading army confirmed Thursday.
The Israeli army said that its forces had killed 50 more Palestinians in and around Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
A military statement claimed that hostile infrastructure and weapon caches were also located in the proximity of the hospital.
"Since the beginning of the operation at Al-Shifa Hospital, over 140 ... have been killed," it added.
The Israeli army raided the facility, which houses thousands of ill and wounded patients, as well as displaced people, early Monday.
Army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi acknowledged Wednesday that the hospital raid aims to "pressure" Hamas during indirect negotiations for a hostage swap deal in Qatar.
Earlier Thursday morning, the military bombed out a building at the besieged medical complex, Palestinian media reported.
"The occupation army (Israel) bombed the specialized surgeries building in Al-Shifa Hospital in western Gaza City," the Al-Aqsa channel said in a brief statement on Telegram.
Palestine TV reported that "the occupation forces threatened the displaced people inside Al-Shifa Complex through loudspeakers and demanded their immediate evacuation from the complex."
The artillery bombardment resulted in widespread fires, killing and injuring dozens of Palestinians, including women and children, and forcing hundreds to flee to eastern Gaza City.
Since early Monday morning, Israeli forces continued to raid the Al-Shifa complex, with killings, shootings and wide-scale arrests carried out among the displaced inside the hospital, and the shelling of nearby houses.
Earlier Wednesday, the Israeli army announced the killing of 90 Palestinians and the interrogation of 300 at Shifa, while arresting another 160 and taking them to Israel for interrogation.
This is the second time that Israeli forces have raided the complex since the start of the war on Gaza last Oct. 7, as they previously raided it last Nov. 16 after a week-long siege, then withdrew after 8 days, during which its yards, parts of its buildings, medical equipment, and even the power generator were destroyed.
Last week, scores of Palestinians were killed and injured in intense Israeli army shelling near the hospital as they were breaking their fast for the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
Israel has waged a deadly war on the Gaza Strip since the Oct. 7 Hamas incursion that killed some 1,160 Israelis.
Nearly 32,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, and more than 74,000 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.
The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of most food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the U.N.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in January issued an interim ruling ordering Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.
