Since then, Israel has bombed much of Gaza City to rubble, ordered the depopulation of the entire northern half of the enclave and left homeless around two-thirds of the strip's 2.3 million Palestinians.
Israel dropped leaflets over eastern areas of Khan Younis telling people to evacuate to shelters, suggesting that military operations there are imminent.
Because the western areas are closer to the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, humanitarian aid could be brought in "as quickly as possible," he said.
Israel has long maintained that the hospital sat above a vast underground bunker housing a Hamas command headquarters.
In Modiin, Israel, family held a funeral for Noa Marciano, 19, an Israeli army conscript whose body was recovered from Gaza City near Shifa hospital on Thursday.
Persons:
Khan Younis, Mark Regev, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, Regev, Abu Ubaida, Abu Mustafa, Elad Goren, Al Shifa, Noa Marciano, Yehudit Weiss, Nidal al, James Mackenzie Henriette Chacar, Jonathan Landay, Cynthia Osterman anda Kim Coghill
Organizations:
MSNBC, United Nations, West Bank, Palestinian, Crescent, Hamas, REUTERS, Gaza's, Hospital staff, Ministry, Reuters, Thomson
Locations:
Israel, GAZA, JERUSALEM, Gaza, Gaza City, Rafah, Egypt, Nablus, Palestinian, Washington, COGAT, Modiin, Shifa, Be’eri, Russian