The Israel Defense Forces released a recording on Friday of what it claimed was a phone call in which a Gaza medical official acknowledged Hamas’s fuel reserves were being hoarded under the largest hospital in the Gaza Strip.
The recording, which was provided to public broadcaster Kan, is reportedly going to be presented to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who arrived in Israel on Friday, as pushback to international pressure to allow fuel into Gaza. Israel has steadfastly refused to allow fuel to enter the strip because it believes Hamas will use it in the war against the Jewish state.
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“The call confirms that Hamas controls the energy and fuel resources in the Gaza Strip and chooses to direct them for terrorism,” the IDF said on Friday. “Moreover, if fuel is allowed to enter the Gaza Strip, Hamas plans to seize those resources.”
In a call that took place yesterday, on November 2nd with an official in the Medical System in Gaza, it was revealed again that Hamas is holding the fuel reserves in the Gaza Strip and is using it >> pic.twitter.com/eXADezfwFo
— דובר צה״ל דניאל הגרי - Daniel Hagari (@IDFSpokesperson) November 3, 2023
Similarly, Israel presented evidence last week of satellite photos purportedly showing half a million liters of diesel being stashed by the terrorist group.
Israel has indicated it would allow fuel to enter Gaza via the Rafah crossing if hospitals do run out, but IDF chief of staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said none have. Hamas is believed to base its main operations under Shifa hospital, the medical facility that is the subject of the newly released recording, per the IDF.
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Blinken arrived in Israel on Friday, his third trip to Israel since the terrorist attacks on Oct. 7, to push for a humanitarian pause in the fighting and for more aid to be allowed into Gaza. Israel has dismissed calls for a ceasefire, while the Biden administration has also been reluctant to push for it despite some pressure from figures within the Democratic Party, particularly members of the "Squad" in Congress. President Joe Biden has called for the humanitarian pause in part to help secure the release of approximately 240 hostages Hamas is holding.
Blinken alongside Herzog in Tel Aviv, repeats that Israel has "not only the right but the obligation" to defend itself, stresses that "civilians caught in the crossfire of Hamas's making" must be protected and provided with assistance. pic.twitter.com/Vf1GIDtgJ5
— Amy Spiro (@AmySpiro) November 3, 2023
Approximately 800 people have been allowed to leave Gaza via the Rafah crossing, while Israel has allowed more than 260 trucks carrying food and medicine through, according to the Associated Press.