ANKARA 

The Israeli army on Saturday said the number of Palestinians killed in raids and attacks around the Gaza Strip's Al-Shifa Hospital rose to 170.

The military in a statement on X said the Israeli army and Shin Bet security forces continue "targeted fighting" in the area while "avoiding harm to civilians, patients, medical teams and medical equipment.”

Troops killed about 170 Palestinians and arrested more than 800 “suspects,” the statement said, claiming to have recovered weapons as well.

The Israeli army has been carrying out an offensive in the vicinity of Al-Shifa Hospital since Monday, putting the lives of thousands of patients and displaced Palestinians in danger.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since the Oct. 7 cross-border attack led by Palestinian group Hamas in which some 1,200 Israelis were killed.

More than 32,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, and around 74,300 others injured besides causing mass destruction, displacement and shortage of necessities.