Israeli troops pull out of Gaza hospital after raid

The Israeli military withdrew from Gaza's largest hospital early yesterday after a two-week raid, leaving behind several bodies and a vast swath of destruction, according to Palestinian residents.

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The military has described the raid on Shifa Hospital as one of the most successful operations of the nearly sixmonth war.

It says it killed scores of Hamas and other militants, including senior operatives who had regrouped there after an earlier raid, and that it seized weapons and valuable intelligence.

The UN health agency said several patients died and dozens were put at risk during the raid, which brought even further destruction to a hospital that had already largely ceased to function.