The Israeli army offensive on Gaza City’s al-Shifa hospital has led to further militant deaths, the military reported on Thursday.

“Over the past day, more than 50 terrorists were eliminated during exchanges of fire,” the military said, adding that more than 140 militants had been eliminated in the area of the hospital since the start of the operation a few days ago.

Israeli forces had also found weapons storage facilities, they said.

According to the military, civilians, patients, doctors, and medical equipment were not harmed.

None of the information could initially be independently verified.

Israeli troops entered the largest hospital in the Gaza Strip in the early hours of Monday to take action against Hamas and its infrastructure.

According to the army, two Israeli soldiers have been killed in the operation so far.

Around 160 suspects have been detained.

The Israeli army had initially entered the al-Shifa hospital in mid-November and said they found a Hamas tunnel complex there.

Meanwhile, fighting is continuing elsewhere in the Gaza Strip, according to the military.

In the centre of the coastal strip, the army said that in the past day around 20 people had been killed, referring to them as terrorists.

The war in Gaza was triggered by the October 7 massacre of Israelis by Hamas terrorists and other extremist Palestinian groups near the border with the Gaza Strip.

Israel has come under increasing international criticism due to the high number of civilian casualties and the catastrophic conditions in the Gaza Strip.

(dpa/NAN)