Israeli forces 'carry out executions, burn homes' in Gaza City: Report

Israeli forces have carried out extrajudicial executions, intense shelling, deliberate burning of homes, arbitrary arrests and forced displacement of residents in western Gaza City as the raid on al-Shifa hospital enters its fifth day, according to the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor. 

The Geneva-based group said on Friday it had documented "shocking testimonies about a series of crimes systematically committed by Israeli forces" in the past 24 hours, which comes as communication with civilians at al-Shifa hospital remains cut. 

A resident of the city, Roula Saad, said: "We saw death before our eyes. They stormed the residential building where my family resides, and suddenly we found 50 armed soldiers in the middle of the living room. They ordered the men to strip naked and the women to follow them.

"They took us to the first floor, where they placed the men in a room next to us before taking them to al-Shifa hospital. As for us women, they ordered us to go down and head towards the southern areas of the Strip."

Another resident, who was not named, said her home was stormed by Israeli troops, who forced everyone out before setting it on fire. 

"Euro-Med Monitor received several pleas regarding severe torture and abuse suffered by patients and wounded individuals who were receiving treatment inside the al-Shifa Medical Complex, including besieging them, keeping them without treatment or food, dragging them on the ground and leaving them lying in front of tanks without clarifying their fate," the NGO said. 

It added that it had documented "dozens of extrajudicial killings, executions and arbitrary arrests in a humiliating manner.

"Euro-Med Monitor reiterates its warnings that the Israeli army has turned the Shifa complex into an open killing field for the fifth consecutive day.

"We emphasise that targeting what remains of the healthcare system in Gaza, exposing the lives of thousands of civilians including patients, wounded individuals, displaced families, medical teams, and journalists to direct targeting, stripping them of their civilian status, and separating families, all indicate a dangerous continuation of Israel's commission of genocide and the deepening of its catastrophic effects."