The Israel Defense Forces published video evidence purporting to show that al-Shifa Hospital, a major health facility in the northern Gaza Strip, was used by Hamas to actively store weapons and other military assets.
“During searches inside one of the hospital’s wards, the troops located a room containing unique technological means, combat equipment, and military equipment used by the Hamas terrorist organization,” the IDF noted in an official statement following an earlier mission led by an elite special forces unit.
A spokesperson for the Israeli military, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said during a press briefing on Wednesday that Hamas uniforms were “thrown on the hospital floor so that the terrorists could escape in civilian guise.”
“These findings unequivocally prove that the hospital was used for terror, in complete violation of international law,” Hagari added.
Footage of IDF international spokesman Jonathan Conricus touring the hospital revealed AK-47s, body armor, and other military hardware. An active gunfight can be heard in the background.
“A few of the most interesting things we have found totally confirm, without any doubt, that Hamas systemically uses hospitals in their military operations, in violation of international law, and what we have found – I think – is the tip of the iceberg,” Conricus said while speaking from the MRI building attached to the sprawling medical complex.
“No cuts, no edits, just the undeniable truth,” the headline of the video posted by the IDF on Wednesday afternoon states.
During the video, Conricus reveals a military “go bag” that contained weapons and ammunition and was being stored behind an MRI machine. He also pointed out that all of the security cameras in the facility had been covered with tape so that there would be no record of Hamas activity in the hospital.
The damning video evidence comes one day after Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant confirmed that fighting within Gaza City had “intensified” in recent days as the IDF undertook the clearing of tunnels created by the Palestinian terror group nestled within civilian infrastructure. “The concrete evidence is that Hamas uses hospitals as an instrument of war,” Hagari said during a press briefing on Tuesday following an earlier special forces raid of Al-Shifa.
“Underneath the hospital, in the basement, we found the Hamas command and control center, suicide bomb vests, grenades, AK-47 assault rifles, explosive devices, RPGs, and other weapons, computers, money, et cetera. We also found signs that indicate that Hamas held hostages here.”
Throughout Hagari’s presentation, he shared images of munitions, weapons, and other military hardware allegedly seized during the special-forces raid. “Additionally, we found evidence that Hamas terrorists came back from the massacre on October 7 to this hospital, among others, after butchering Israelis in their homes,” the spokesperson added. “Hamas hides in hospitals. Today, we will expose this to the world.”
“Our war is against Hamas, not the people of Gaza. Especially not the sick, the women, and children,” Hagari said later. “Our war is against Hamas, who uses them as human shields.”
The escalation in fighting has drawn the White House to caution Israel to do its utmost to protect al-Shifa, which Israel has long argued doubles as a Hamas headquarters underground.
“It’s my hope and expectation that there will be less intrusive action relative to the hospital,” President Joe Biden told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday afternoon. “The hospital must be protected.”
A similar sentiment was echoed by French president Emmanuel Macron. “We condemn in the strongest terms all bombardment of civilians and in particular civilian infrastructure, which must be protected,” Macron told reporters in Bern, Switzerland, during a state.