Israel Raids One of Gaza’s Last Functioning Major Hospitals

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at an Israeli raid on one of Gaza’s last operating major hospitals, electoral reform in India, and Greece legalizing same-sex marriage.

Nasser Hospital Under Fire

Israeli special forces stormed Nasser Medical Center in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis on Thursday in what the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) described as a “precise and limited operation” to search for Hamas militants that the military said were hiding among wounded civilians and for the possible remains of hostages held at the hospital.

The hospital is facing a “disastrous and worrying situation,” said Ashraf al-Qudra, a spokesperson for the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, on Thursday. He warned of fuel running out within 24 hours and said some people had been forced to relocate to a building with “frightening conditions.”

Nasser Medical Center is one of Gaza’s last functioning major hospitals. Israel has accused Hamas of operating out of Nasser and other health complexes, arguing that the militant group’s actions make these locations legitimate military targets. International law experts and foreign governments, though, have urged Israel to protect all civilian infrastructure. The IDF said it also had “credible intelligence” that Hamas had previously held Israeli hostages at Nasser and that the bodies of some hostages might still be there.

Israel ordered thousands of displaced Palestinians sheltering at Nasser hospital to evacuate on Wednesday in advance of the raid. The military said it opened a “humanitarian corridor” to ensure that civilians could safely leave but that the roughly 300 hospital staff and 450 patients did not have to evacuate. According to Israeli spokesperson Daniel Hagari, Israel wants Nasser to continue to treat its patients. Hundreds of people have since fled.

Palestinians faced an impossible choice to stay at Nasser and “become a potential target” or leave “into an apocalyptic landscape where bombings and evacuation orders are part of daily life,” Doctors Without Borders project coordinator Lisa Macheiner said.

The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry accused Israeli troops of attacking the complex’s orthopedic department. Hospital officials reported tank and sniper fire and said at least one patient was killed and around eight others wounded. Israel said it detained numerous suspects during the raid.

The operation came less than one week after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to create a plan to evacuate Palestinians sheltering in nearby Rafah ahead of an impending ground offensive there. More than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million civilians have fled to Rafah in recent weeks to escape Israeli bombardments. Netanyahu pledged safe passage for those evacuating but did not specify what that might look like.

Today’s Most Read

• Biden’s Grand Bargain to Remake the Middle East by Amy Mackinnon and Robbie Gramer
• The Country With Nothing Left to Lose by Christina Lu
• The Devastation of Gaza Was Inevitable by Barry R. Posen

What We’re Following

Campaign funding reforms. India’s Supreme Court banned anonymous election donations on Thursday—just months before New Delhi is expected to hold national elections. The so-called electoral bonds system, established in 2017, allowed individuals and companies to make unlimited contributions to political parties. But India’s highest court ruled that granting funders anonymity was “unconstitutional” because it restricted the public’s right to know how parties were financially supported. The five-judge bench also reinstated limits to corporate donations.

India hosts the most expensive elections in the world, spending as much as $7.2 billion in 2019. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) under Prime Minister Narendra Modi created the electoral bonds system and has been its largest beneficiary over the past seven years. In fiscal year 2022, the BJP earned $230 million and spent $103 million. Although Thursday’s ruling is a major setback for future BJP fundraising, experts predict that it will likely not impact the party’s election prospects this year.

LGBTQ progress. Greece legalized same-sex marriage and equal parental rights for same-sex couples on Thursday—making it the first Orthodox Christian nation in the world and the 16th European Union country to enact such a law. Center-right Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced plans to propose the bill after his landslide reelection last year, and four left-wing parties, including the opposition Syriza party, backed it. “Say yes to equality,” Mitsotakis urged parliamentarians on Thursday.

Under the new legislation, same-sex couples can get married and have parental rights. However, Greek Parliament still restricts these individuals from assisted reproduction or surrogate pregnancies, an option that is available to women in Greece who cannot have children for medical reasons. The law also does not offer parental rights to transgender people. Far-right parties and the conservative Church of Greece were the bill’s main opponents.

National security threat. U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, who heads the House Intelligence Committee, caused a stir in Washington on Wednesday when he released a letter asking President Joe Biden to declassify information on a “serious national security threat.” The letter provided no additional details about what that threat was or how serious it could be, leading to public consternation and concern.

Subsequent reporting suggested that Turner was referring to new U.S. intelligence on Russian ambitions to put a nuclear weapon in space to potentially target satellites, though U.S. officials told the New York Times that such actions do not appear imminent. Nuclear capabilities in space could threaten U.S. satellites, undermining Washington’s communications, intelligence, surveillance, and command and control operations, as well as those of its allies. The Biden administration was already set to brief a bipartisan group of House members on the intelligence on Thursday and was thus caught off guard by Turner’s public demand for information on Wednesday.

Odds and Ends

Cupid had a particularly busy day in Latin America on Wednesday. Around 1,200 happy couples decided to tie the knot in a free mass wedding ceremony in Nezahualcóyotl near Mexico City. The annual Valentine’s Day celebration touted record turnout this year, with both heterosexual and LGBTQ couples participating. Nicaragua also hosted a resounding chorus of “I dos” along the shores of Lake Managua. This gives “sharing the love” a whole new meaning.