IDF wraps up Kamal Adwan Hospital raid, clearing of northern Gaza almost complete after 2,500 terrorists killed

The IDF announced the death of a soldier as it said its forces wrapped up the raid of the Kamal Adwan Hospital, Hamas’ last stronghold in the neighborhood of Jabaliya and one of the main points of resistance remaining in the northern Gaza Strip.

The fallen soldier was named as Staff Sgt. Yuval Shoham (22), of the 401st Armored Brigade’s 9th Battalion. The overall death toll from operations in Gaza now stands at 394, while the concentrated operations in the northern Gaza Strip since the start of October have cost the lives of 40 soldiers.

After operating and vacating the areas over previous months, in October, the army began isolating large parts of northern Gaza, which had contained much of Hamas’ main governmental and military infrastructure, and lies closest to Israeli population centers, particularly the town of Sderot.

Troops then began systematically clearing neighborhoods of remaining terror infrastructure, eliminating some 2,500 terrorists and detaining around 1,950 more, while forcibly evacuating civilians toward the humanitarian zones in the south.

Following Saturday’s rare long-range rocket attack on Jerusalem, the IDF ordered the evacuation of some of the last remaining populated areas in Beit Hanoun, from where the rockets were launched and where the IDF’s Nahal Brigade recently began a new concentrated raid.

On Sunday, five more rockets were launched from Beit Hanoun at Sderot, in one of the largest barrages in recent months. Two rockets were shot down while three fell in open areas, the IDF said.

Also on Sunday, Army Radio published new details about the large-scale raid of the Kamal Adwan Hospital, which continues to receive much international scrutiny due to it being the last functioning hospital in the northern strip.

For example, World Health Organization Dir.-Gen. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on 𝕏: “We repeat: stop attacks on hospitals. People in Gaza need access to health care. Humanitarians need access to provide health aid. Ceasefire!”

Early on Friday morning, soldiers of the 401st Armored Brigade quickly surrounded the hospital compound, and eliminated two terrorist squads who attempted to flee. Others tried to escape using ambulances.

Military sources told Army Radio that the terrorists had prepared the surrounding areas as battle stations, rigging many of the nearby civilian homes with explosive traps. When they saw the IDF arriving, most terrorists left the hospital itself to man the prepared battle stations, while dressed as civilians.

📍𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗽: 𝗛𝗮𝗺𝗮𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗞𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝗱𝘄𝗮𝗻 𝗛𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹

• 240+ Hamas, Islamic Jihad terrorists and other operatives suspected of terrorist activities were apprehended, some of whom attempted to pose as… pic.twitter.com/2oOCbeAsyQ

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) December 28, 2024

IDF troops then called out to the hospital director, who is being investigated as a suspected Hamas terrorist himself, to come out and surrender.

He told the troops that some 350 people remained in the hospital and was instructed to facilitate the transfer of the sick and wounded to the nearby Indonesian Hospital, which had previously been evacuated and is controlled by IDF troops.

When the naval commando unit Shayetet 13 arrived the next day to raid the hospital, there were barely any terrorists left inside, and the commandos proceeded to locate and destroy any remaining weapons or terror infrastructure.

⭕️6 Hamas terrorists that participated in the October 7 massacre were eliminated in joint IDF and ISA operations in Jabaliya and Beit Lahia in Gaza.

14 terrorists were located and eliminated—6 of them directly infiltrated Israeli territory on October 7—including:

– Mohammed… pic.twitter.com/10LqsItIwl

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) December 29, 2024

Overall, around 940 people were evacuated from the hospital and its surrounding areas, of whom 240 were found to be terrorists. Of them, 15 took part in the Oct. 7 invasion and massacre.

Many of the captured terrorists are considered “high value” due to their wealth of knowledge of the terror group’s inner workings.

After wrapping up the Kamal Adwan operation, the IDF said there was great progress toward completing its operations in Jabaliya and the rest of the northern Gaza Strip, including Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun.