The Israeli Defence Forces on Sunday said that it has uncovered Hamas’ hidden network of tunnels, rocket launchers and command centres adjoining hospitals in the northern part of war-torn Gaza.
“Hamas systematically exploits hospitals as part of its war machine,” Israel’s chief military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told reporters.
During a press briefing in Tel Aviv, Hagari presented videos, photographs and audio recordings which he claimed illustrated the Palestinian militant group’s strategy of using hospitals as shelter and deterring civilians from leaving war zones.
He further said that during the war, around 800 rockets were fired at Israel from Gaza which fell short and landed inside the enclave, claiming the lives of many Palestinians.
As per news agency Reuters reports, the Hamas group, which is backed by Iran, manufactures some of its rockets locally and also receives some from abroad.
Hagari also levelled some accusations against two other hospitals in Gaza, the Qatari-funded Sheikh Hamad Hospital and a hospital built by groups from Indonesia.
“This is a satellite image of the hospital complex taken after the massacre of the seventh of October. I am going to zoom in on the area here, ok? Across the street, only 75 meters – 80 meters to the hospital,” Hagari said.
The @IDF just declassified material showing how Hamas hides behind hospitals, forces residents into the line of fire and more.
As RADM Daniel Hagari said: “We will not accept Hamas’s cynical use of hospitals to hide their terror infrastructure.” pic.twitter.com/A7LcKO9J5e
— Lt. Col. Richard Hecht (@LtColRichard) November 5, 2023
“Here the IDF identified a launch pad meaning they launch rockets from here, I am going to repeat it they launch rockets on Israel 75 meters from a hospital. Why? They know precisely that if Israel will air strike a launch pad like that, the hospital would be damaged,” he added.
Hamas rebuffs allegations
Late last month, the Israeli army had levelled similar allegations against Hamas saying that the militant group is abusing hospitals in the Gaza Strip for military purposes.
“Hamas has turned hospitals into command and control centres and hideouts for Hamas terrorists and commanders,” Hagari had told a news conference.
He specifically identified Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest in Gaza, as one from which Hamas militants were operating.
“Hamas has turned hospitals into command and control centres and hideouts for Hamas terrorists and commanders. Additionally, I can confirm that according to the intelligence we have in our hands, there is fuel in hospitals in Gaza,” Hagari said.
“Hamas terrorists operate inside and under Shifa Hospital and other hospitals in Gaza,” he said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also took to his official X account and shared an illustration-based video showing how the militant group used Shifa Hospital as a shelter for its military operations from both above and below the ground.
“Hamas-ISIS is sick. They turn hospitals into headquarters for their terror. We just released intelligence proving it. Hamas rejects,” he wrote in a posting.
Hamas-ISIS is sick.
They turn hospitals into headquarters for their terror.
We just released intelligence proving it.
Here it is: pic.twitter.com/F82OxaIPN6
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) October 27, 2023
Hamas had fired back on the accusations saying that the claims had no basis.
“There’s no basis in truth in what the spokesman of the enemy army stated,” said Izzat al-Rishq, a senior member of the Hamas political bureau. He accused Israel of making the allegations to “pave the way for a new massacre to be committed against our people”.
(With inputs from agencies)
Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments on the Israel-Palestine conflict after the Hamas attacks. However, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.
