Hospitals have special protection under the rules of war. Why are they in the crosshairs in Gaza?

By ISABEL DEBRE
Associated Press

JERUSALEM (AP) — Hospitals have been caught in the crossfire during the Israel-Hamas war — both literally and in the clashing narratives of the conflict. Israel says Hamas militants are using hospitals as shields for fighters, while the Palestinians and rights groups accuse Israel of recklessly harming civilians there. On Saturday, close quarters combat between the Israeli military and Hamas militants raged around Gaza’s largest and most advanced hospital, Shifa. The intense battles around Shifa and other hospitals in the rubble-filled streets of Gaza City raised an urgent question: When do medical facilities lose special protection under international humanitarian law?