At least 300 bodies found at Al-Shifa hospital after Israeli military withdrawal, Gaza's Civil Defense says

At least 300 bodies have been found so far at the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City following the Israeli military’s withdrawal from the medical complex Monday, according to Gaza's Civil Defense.  

“All those who called us for rescue requests earlier have passed away around the Shifa Complex,” Gaza Civil Defense said in a statement on Monday.

The organization said it was difficult to determine the exact number of people killed as Israeli forces had buried bodies inside and around the Al-Shifa complex and bulldozed nearby roads. CNN is unable to independently verify these numbers because of a lack of reporting access to the strip.  

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) withdrew from Al-Shifa Monday following a 14-day siege of the facility. The Israeli military repeatedly said the Al-Shifa complex was being used by armed militants. CNN has reached out to the IDF on these numbers and have yet to hear back.  

Israel says its operations in and around the hospital were a “precise” anti-terror mission and said it had done its utmost to avoid civilian harm. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said more than 200 militants had been killed in the hospital.

More on the Al-Shifa operation: In a briefing Monday, spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said that 900 suspected militants had been detained in the two-week-long operation. More than 500 militants had been identified as members of Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), Hagari added, with some of those detained being “commanders and significant people.” He claimed Hamas and PIJ started regrouping in the northern part of the Gaza Strip and were using Al-Shifa as a base to rebuild.