Israel-Hamas War Reaching Critical Point

Israel's troops have encircled Gaza's Al-Shifa hospital, thought to be the site of Hamas' main command post, as fears grow for the fate of its patients and staff, and anticipation builds that the war against Hamas militants is reaching its climax.

Yossi Alpher is a former Israel Defense Forces (IDF) intelligence officer and ex-official with Israel's intelligence agency, Mossad. He told Newsweek, "It's a big mystery," as to how Hamas will be targeted at the site and what will happen afterwards.

The ongoing Israeli military campaign in Gaza followed the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7 that left an estimated 1,200 dead. More than 11,000 people have been killed in the territory since Israeli forces began their operation, according to the Associated Press.

Tens of thousands of evacuees have taken shelter at the hospital where a surgeon told the BBC that that its intensive care unit (ICU) had been damaged following Israeli strikes, killing two patients, including a baby. But Israel said it does not target hospitals and blamed a misfired projectile launched by terrorist groups inside Gaza for the strike. The Israelis did say there had been "intense fighting against Hamas in the vicinity of the area."

The IDF has said that hospitals in Gaza "need to be evacuated in order to deal with Hamas," which has denied using civilians as human shields, as Israel has repeatedly accused them of doing.

Alpher said that, while Israeli military actions around Al-Shifa have become the focus of their offensive, he was concerned at the possibility there was exaggeration about the role the hospital plays as a Hamas hub. "There has been this huge build-up over Shifa," Alpher said, "and if there's nothing there what happens then?"

Israeli forces are hunting for Hamas' top leader Yahya Sinwar, 61, considered the mastermind behind the October 7 terrorist attacks, and Mohammed Deif, the commander of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's military wing.

"There's absolutely no certainty that Sinwar and Deif are there," said Alpher. They know we're coming. They know we're not going so far into the South (of Gaza), so they may have left or they may be planning to fight to the finish, in which case it will indeed be the climax.

"I don't see us attacking the hospital when it's full of patients and doctors—that would be disastrous. So how long will this take is not at all clear," Alpher added. "And how you get to the tunnels underneath— it's a big mystery."

Alpher said that, even if Israel's actions around al-Shifa ended up as the climax of its push to fulfil Israel's pledge to eliminate Hamas, "there is still Hamas in the south, which may include the Hamas leadership."

"There's still the danger of escalation in the north, and we may look back and say, 'what was all the excitement about? This was just the beginning,'" Alpher added.

"Alternatively, once Shifa is behind us, American and other international pressure will become so intense that we look for a way to call it a day and somehow hope that diplomacy will deal with the south."

That pressure against Israel is building from countries that have backed the country's right to defend itself following the Hamas attacks a month ago. French President Emmanuel Macron told the BBC that there must be a cease-fire and urged other leaders to join his call.

The U.S. has pushed for temporary pauses to allow for the distribution of aid to civilians in the besieged territory. However, Israel has so far only agreed to brief daily periods during which civilians can flee the area of ground combat in northern Gaza and head south on foot along the territory's main north-south artery.

The Palestinian Red Crescent posted to X (formerly Twitter) that Israeli tanks are now 65 feet away from Al-Quds hospital in Gaza City, and that direct shooting is creating "a state of extreme panic and fear among 14,000 displaced people."

Meanwhile, Angelita Caredda, the Norwegian Refugee Council's Middle East regional director, told Newsweek on Saturday that "those being treated or seeking shelter in hospitals have nowhere else to go."

Medical facilities and those treating the sick and wounded "have special protection under international humanitarian law that must be respected in all circumstances," Caredda said in emailed comments.

"Failure to do so amounts to a grave breach of international humanitarian law," she added. "An urgent ceasefire is needed to avoid further loss of innocent lives. All parties must abide by the laws of war to spare all civilians."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas is to blame for civilians being harmed and that, while Israel has urged civilians to leave combat zones, "Hamas is doing everything it can to prevent them from leaving."