The Israeli army said on Monday it had “evidence” that Hamas militants were holding hostages in a children’s hospital in the Gaza Strip that they kidnapped during their Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel.
Israel estimates that 239 people were kidnapped in the October 7 attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians.
Under Al-Rantissi Hospital in northern Gaza, the Israeli army collected “evidence that suggests Hamas was holding hostages here,” such as a baby bottle or a piece of rope near a chair, army spokesman Daniel Hagari said, supporting video .
The army says it has discovered “Hamas infrastructure in the basement” of this children’s hospital in Gaza City, said Daniel Hagari, who filmed himself at the scene. “This is currently under investigation, but we also have information that confirms this,” he added.
In the video that the spokesman showed to the press, the suspicious basement is deserted and appears to have been hastily abandoned. He describes it as a “closed area compared to the rest of the hospital.”
“We can see the ventilation that was improvised and we can see the infrastructure that was built here – toilets, showers, a small kitchen – to meet the needs of the terrorists,” he said.
“You are now entering the room where we suspect the hostages are,” explains the spokesman and continues the visit. “There are curtains behind which there is nothing, just a wall. There is no reason to hang a curtain here unless you want to film hostages (…) In this room there is a list in Arabic that says: We are in an operation against Israel that began on October 7th. It’s a list of guards where each terrorist puts his name and each terrorist has his own team to guard the people who were here,” he says.
“In addition, we have found evidence that Hamas terrorists were returning from, among other things, the October 7 massacre at this hospital … after massacring Israelis in their homes,” the spokesman said.
This “evidence” includes a motorcycle “with bullet holes” that was “used by Hamas terrorists during the October 7 massacre,” the army said in a statement on Monday.
Among the weapons found were “explosive belts, grenades, AK47 assault rifles, explosive devices, rocket launchers and other weapons,” Daniel Hagari listed.
Tel Aviv is accused of “postponing” negotiations
At the same time, Hamas’s armed wing accused Israel of “postponing” discussions through Qatari mediation about the possible release of dozens of hostages in exchange for the release of “200 children and 75 women” detained by Israel.
“Qatari mediation led to efforts to secure the release of the (hostages) in exchange for the release of 200 Palestinian children and 75 Palestinian women from enemy prisons,” brigades spokesman Ezzedine al-Qassam Abou Obeida assured in a statement Audio recording released by Hamas.
Israel “demanded the release of 100 (hostages), we told the mediation that we could release the hostages if we achieved a ceasefire for five days – that is, a ceasefire and the distribution of aid to all our people throughout the Gaza Strip – but the enemy hesitates,” he continued.
On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu raised the possibility of a possible agreement to release Hamas hostages in the Gaza Strip in an interview with NBC. He was asked by the American broadcaster about the possibility of an agreement regarding the women, children and elderly hostages. But Tel Aviv doesn’t want to hear about a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.