The decision to send troops into al-Shifa hospital marked an escalation of Israel's offensive in Gaza, amid increased calls for a ceasefire.
Witnesses reported seeing tanks and masked soldiers in the grounds of the hospital around 3am as patients and civilians remained trapped inside.
"Hospitals are not battlegrounds," said the WHO chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. "We've lost touch again with health personnel at the hospital.
We're extremely worried for their and their patients' safety." The Israeli army said its troops had conducted a "precise and targeted operation against Hamas in a specified area".
Later yesterday a senior Israeli military official said that "weapons and other terror infrastructure" had been found during the operation "in one specific area".
The official told reporters that four militants had died in a clash outside, and that there had been no fighting inside the hospital complex and no friction with medical staff or patients, who he said were in a different section of the site.
"IDF soldiers have already found weapons and other terror infrastructure. In the last hour, we saw concrete evidence that Hamas terrorists used the Shifa hospital as a terror headquarter," the official said, declining to be named. He did not specify what had been found but said the evidence would be presented later.
Hamas denied the claim, which it said was "nothing but a continuation of the lies and cheap propaganda, through which [Israel] is trying to give justification for its crime aimed at destroying the health sector in Gaza".
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
London rail stations to be shut for up to eight days over festive period
Some of London's main railway stations will be closed and train services diverted at Christmas time, Network Rail has said.
'Weekend warrior' workouts may provide same health boost as more regular exercise
If exercise takes a back seat in the working week, take heart. Cramming the recommended amount of weekly activity into weekends has significant health benefits, research suggests.
'Was there an attack?' Tel Avivians unfazed but hope fades for hostages
Air raid sirens blared in Tel Aviv on Wednesday morning as, for the first time, Hezbollah fired a surface-to-surface missile at the coastal city. A few minutes later, beachgoers flooded the bustling promenade, playing volleyball, cycling and kite surfing.
Dotting the Es: abbey corrects spelling of Brontë in Poets' Corner after 85 years
An 85-year injustice has been rectified at Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey with a correction to the spelling of one of the greatest of all literary names. Reader, it is finally Brontë, not Bronte.
OpenAI will restructure as for-profit company-report
OpenAI is reportedly pushing ahead with plans to become a for-profit company, after more senior figures left the developer of ChatGPT in the wake of the surprise exit of its chief technology officer, Mira Murati.
Starmer due to meet Trump in New York in bid to 'establish relationship'
Keir Starmer was due to meet Donald Trump in New York last night as part of a push to establish a good relationship with the Republican presidential candidate.
Starmer calls row over using peer's flat 'farcical'
Keir Starmer said yesterday that the row over him borrowing Labour donor Waheed Alli's luxury flat for filming was \"farcical\" and the public would come to their own judgments about his reasons for taking support from the peer.
New York's mayor charged with accepting bribes
Eric Adams, the mayor of New York City, was charged yesterday with accepting bribes and illegal campaign contributions from foreign sources.
Netanyahu says Lebanon strikes will go on, despite ceasefire call
Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel “will not stop” its attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon despite calls from the US, France and other allies for an immediate three-week ceasefire aimed at containing the spread of a conflict that is beginning to engulf Lebanon.
Lammers blow against United as Twente hit back to share spoils
When Manchester United click as they did here for large swathes, their attack features organised chaos and their defence is compact, as shown by their four clean sheets this season.