The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and the Shin Bet security agency announced on Monday (Apr. 1) that they have withdrawn from Gaza City's al-Shifa hospital after besieging it for two weeks. 

"IDF and ISA [Shin Bet] troops have completed precise operational activity in the area of the Shifa Hospital and exited the area of the hospital," the IDF said. "The troops killed terrorists in close-quarters encounters, located numerous weapons and intelligence documents throughout the hospital, while preventing harm to civilians, patients, and medical teams."

Meanwhile, Gaza Civil Defense spokesperson Capt. Mahmoud Bassal, on the scene, told CNN that the hospital had been "completely destroyed and burned down."

"Injured and dead bodies fill the hospital grounds," he said. "There are bodies buried in the hospital yards."

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More than 30 wounded people were transported from al-Shifa to the al-Ahli Baptist Hospital east of Gaza City, Bassal added.

Israeli troops first raided al-Shifa in November, with a follow-up green-lit in January despite it saying that it had completed dismantling Hamas's command structure in northern Gaza. 

The IDF added that civilians, patients, and medical teams were evacuated during the operation, though Palestinians inside and around Al-Shifa reported civilian casualties and arrests.

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