EXPLANER
The Israeli military says it has found rifles, grenades and military vests – but so far no Hamas command centers.
Israel attacked Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital on Thursday for the second consecutive day.
Israeli troops attacked the coastal enclave’s largest medical facility on Wednesday, starting at 2 a.m. Israel has long claimed that Hamas used the hospital as a command center. The Israeli military said the raid helped it find evidence to support its claims.
So what does Israel claim to have found?
What was found at the hospital?
The Israeli military released video footage from inside an undisclosed building within the medical complex.
The video showed three duffel bags that the military said were found hidden in an MRI lab, each containing an assault rifle, grenades, Hamas uniforms and body armor.
Additionally, the military showed assault rifles without magazines and a laptop that it said had been found.
Israeli army spokesman Jonathan Conricus said: “These weapons have absolutely no reason to be inside a hospital,” adding that he believed the materials were “not just the tip of the iceberg.
What about Hamas tunnels and military command?
In the days leading up to the raid, Israel insisted that Hamas was operating underground tunnels at al-Shifa hospital. He also claimed that the hospital was a Hamas command center and military post.
Israel’s claims were also backed by US President Joe Biden, who accused Hamas of committing war crimes by setting up its military headquarters beneath the hospital.
Yet more than 24 hours after the Israeli raid began, the Israeli military has shown no evidence of the existence of Hamas-run tunnels or a military command center beneath the hospital.
An Tel Aviv Tribune digital investigation found no basis for Israeli forces’ claim that there is a Hamas tunnel under Gaza’s Sheikh Hamad Hospital ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/4640OprGwk
– Tel Aviv Tribune English (@AJEnglish) November 7, 2023
Are there any flaws in Israel’s claims?
Mustafa Barghouti, secretary general of the Palestinian National Initiative, said that what Israel had shown so far in videos taken under al-Shifa hospital could easily have been implemented by the army itself.
“All they showed was a Kalashnikov and a laptop that they could have easily put there and pretended they were found there,” the veteran Palestinian lawmaker told Tel Aviv Tribune.
On
But he deleted that post, then reposted an almost identical video, with a few edits. On social platforms, this further fueled questions about the veracity of Israel’s claims.
How did Hamas react?
Hamas has denied and rejected the latest statements by the Israeli army.
“The occupying forces are still lying… because they brought weapons, clothes and tools and placed them in the hospital in a scandalous manner,” said Ezzat El Rashq, a senior Hamas official based in Qatar.
He added that Hamas has repeatedly requested that a committee of the United Nations, the World Health Organization and the International Committee of the Red Cross verify Israel’s claims about Hamas tunnels under hospitals. from Gaza.
Barghouti said Israel has consistently rejected these calls for an independent international team to investigate the situation in al-Shifa. “Israel doesn’t want this because it knows it’s lying,” he said.
What is happening in al-Shifa right now?
The Israeli army continues to attack al-Shifa, with troops deployed on all sides of the hospital, Tel Aviv Tribune’s Hani Mahmoud reported from Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
The Israeli army destroyed the building of specialized medical offices. Partitions, walls between rooms and all medical equipment inside the building were completely demolished, he said.
Hundreds of patients, doctors and nurses, and more than 2,000 others housed in al-Shifa are believed to remain in the hospital.
“What we see today is that this war is about attacking civilians, attacking hospitals and destroying medical facilities,” Barghouti said.