Israel’s latest evidence is the most convincing yet of Hamas military activity at al Shifa hospital, Gaza’s largest.
Thus far, it falls short of proving there was a substantial secret subterranean command and control base below the medical complex.
What it does show is the presence of men with guns inside al Shifa, something doctors and officials there have repeatedly denied any knowledge of since this war began.
Israel-Gaza latest: Tanks ‘200 metres from hospital’, doctor says
The IDF has released video footage of what it claims is a secret tunnel.
It comprises a vertical shaft, sunk near the edge of the hospital compound, connecting with a tunnel heading towards the main hospital buildings, that ends with a blast proof door with a firing hole in it.
At the outset of the war, the IDF produced an illustration of what it called a multi-story terror underground complex below the hospital.
It believes it has discovered part of it, although last night an IDF spokesman said that complex may only be one storey, not four.
The IDF also showed footage of a pick-up truck it found inside the hospital compound that it says was loaded with weapons and munitions.
And it presented CCTV footage from the night of 7 October from inside the hospital.
One clip shows men, at least one of them armed, hustling what it says is a hostage by force through the hospital’s main entrance lobby.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
IDF claims to have located al Shifa tunnel
Another shows an injured man that the Israelis claim is a hostage on a hospital stretcher, being wheeled through the hospital under armed guard.
It’s not possible to independently verify from the footage whether or not the wounded man is a hostage.
Israel is so confident both are hostages it has identified them as a Nepali national and Thai national.
Hamas has responded to the video, saying “this confirms that the Ministry of Health hospitals provide medical services to everyone who deserves them, regardless of their gender and race”.
In a statement, Hamas condemned what it called the “false news of the occupation army and the allegations that will soon come out about equipment and weapons that they planted with their own hands”.
Read more:
Israel has questions to answer after worrying Gaza hospital report
Israel poised for ‘second phase’ of war – but sympathy is waning
Israelis say they have concrete evidence their soldier Noa Marciano was murdered inside the hospital having been taken hostage on 7 October.
It is not clear how they established that fact from the pathologist’s investigation into her death.
The Israelis have now emptied the hospital of most staff and patients.
They have a freer rein now to search to prove the existence of the command and control base they say lurks below al Shifa.
