Ismail Zanoun/AFP/Getty Images
A picture shows an exterior view of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on November 10, 2023, amid ongoing fighting between Israel and Hamas.
CNN –
A U.S. official with knowledge of American intelligence says Hamas has a command node under Al-Shifa hospital, uses fuel designated for it and its fighters regularly group in and around Gaza’s largest hospital.
The information comes after a senior White House official said Sunday that Hamas was using hospitals and civilian facilities.
“Even open source reports indicate that Hamas uses hospitals, among many other civilian facilities, for command and control purposes, to store weapons and to house its fighters,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on CNN’s State of the Union . “Without going to this specific hospital or making this specific claim, this is Hamas’ track record, both historically and in this conflict.”
Israel has insisted it was justified in taking military action around the hospital, despite criticism from the United Nations and other international organizations. The Israeli government announced the establishment of evacuation corridors and called for the removal of civilians in addition to providing fuel.
Hamas and hospital officials have denied allegations that the hospital is being used as a command center.
The news that US intelligence assessments appear to support Israel’s claims comes as global attention is focused on the fighting at the hospital and reports suggest that several patients, including children, are suffering “catastrophic” Conditions died, as the director of the hospital said.
“There is no more water, food and milk for children and babies… the situation in the hospital is catastrophic,” said the director of the medical center, Dr. Muhammad Abu Salmiya, told CNN on Monday.
But Israel has insisted that patients can be evacuated from the hospital.
“There is no reason why we can’t just get the patients out of there instead of letting Hamas be the command center for terrorism, for the rockets they fire against Israel, for the terror tunnels they use to kill Israeli civilians “,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a State of the Union interview with CNN’s Dana Bash.
Netanyahu added that Israel is “taking a cautious approach to hospitals.” But we will not grant terrorists immunity either.”
The CIA declined to comment. CNN has not seen the intelligence cited by the US official.
Dr. Munir Al-Bursh, the director general of the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry, said on Monday that Al-Shifa’s medical staff refused an evacuation order from the IDF because they feared about 700 patients would die if they were left behind.
“The problem is not the doctors, but the patients. And if they are left behind, they will die, and if they are moved, they will die on the way. That’s the problem, we’re talking about 700 patients,” Al-Bursh told CNN on Monday.
“There has been no response from doctors so far, but some of the displaced people and families have already left the country.”
According to the World Health Organization, Al-Shifa has been without power for three days. “Regrettably, the hospital no longer functions as a hospital,” it said.