Satellite images show that Israeli forces are stationed one block from Al-Shifa, the biggest hospital in Gaza City, an area that has been the site of intensified fighting in recent days.
The Times obtained and analyzed the images, taken Tuesday by a commercial satellite image provider, that show Israeli armored vehicles, likely tanks, 600 feet southwest of the hospital compound. A larger group of Israeli military vehicles is positioned at a school 1,000 feet northeast of Al-Shifa.
The satellite image also captured three large, black smoke plumes, likely the result of fighting between Hamas and the Israelis. Fires engulf what appear to be three warehouses, the closest about half a mile from Al-Shifa Hospital. The fires, near the Al-Israa tower in Gaza City, can also be seen in a video verified by The Times.
Thousands of people fled Al-Shifa over the weekend as Israeli troops encircled it, and the World Health Organization on Monday warned of a “dire and perilous” situation for patients.
Bora Erden contributed reporting from New York.
