Israel raids Gaza's largest hospital

Israeli forces raided Gaza's al-Shifa Hospital on Wednesday after laying siege of the enclave's largest medical facility for days.

A doctor in Gaza's Al Shifa hospital said staff, patients and displaced Palestinians sheltering there were terrified as Israeli forces moved to raid the complex to root out Hamas militants they said were hiding underneath.

The fate of Al Shifa, Gaza's biggest hospital, has become a focus of international alarm because of worsening conditions with fuel, medicine, food and water in ever shorter supply.

People began digging a mass grave inside the complex on Tuesday to bury around 100 bodies of patients that were decomposing. Three newborns died after they had to be moved from incubators to ordinary beds.

The surgeon said none of the 36 other newborns had died in the past 24 hours but patients in intensive care had.

"We are losing a lot, more and more of the ICU patients, almost five daily, because of the lack of oxygen which is very important for these patients," he said.

Palestinians sheltering in Al Shifa Hospital have been taken blindfold to an unknown location by the Israeli military, the manager said.

The hospital official said Al Shifa has been besieged by Israeli troops for five days.

“There are no armed people in the complex. We've not heard any clashes, only gunfire from the army,” said the official.

Israeli troops were reported to be searching the hospital basement on Wednesday.

The military said they were searching for Hamas fighters and people abducted from Israel by the militants last month.

On Wednesday afternoon, Israel's military said no hostages had been found at Al Shifa.

Palestinian civilians should not pay the price for the atrocities committed by militant Islamist group Hamas against Israel, France has said, voicing "serious concern" about Israeli operations inside the Al Shifa hospital in the Gaza Strip.

The head of the World Health Organization has said Israel's offensive on Al Shifa hospital in Gaza is "totally unacceptable".

More than 100 British parliamentarians have written to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak urging him to support an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” in Gaza.