1:28 p.m. ET, November 19, 2023
Israeli military releases video of an underground tunnel on the grounds of Al-Shifa Hospital
By CNN’s Oren Liebermann in Tel Aviv
The Israeli military has released a video from an exposed tunnel shaft on the grounds of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, showing an underground tunnel extending downward from the shaft opening.
The video, which lasts 3 minutes and 27 seconds and was filmed on Friday, November 17, begins outside the tunnel shaft, with several Israel Defense Forces soldiers visible in the opening shot. The video then shows soldiers preparing to lower equipment into the shaft to examine the interior. There is no sound throughout the clip.
As the camera is lowered into the shaft, a spiral staircase becomes visible around a central post. The camera then begins to move along the tunnel before coming to a sharp left turn. The walls of the tunnel appear to be made of vertical concrete slabs with an arched concrete roof.
After the bend, the tunnel continues before you come to a closed metal door that looks like a small viewing window. The IDF says it has not yet opened the door because the military fears it could be an explosive device. According to the IDF, the tunnel shaft extends 10 meters (just over 30 feet) underground and the tunnel itself extends 55 meters (180 feet).
“This type of door is used by the terrorist organization Hamas to deny Israeli forces access to Hamas command centers and underground facilities,” the IDF and Israel Security Service claimed in a statement on Sunday evening.
Hamas and hospital officials have repeatedly denied that the hospital is anything other than a medical complex.
Key context: For weeks, the IDF has claimed that Hamas is using Gaza’s largest hospital as cover for what it calls terror infrastructure. IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Hamas had a command and control center, or headquarters, under the hospital, as other senior Israeli officials had also insisted.
But after entering the hospital itself, the IDF is under enormous pressure to prove the long-standing claim with its promise of “concrete evidence.” The exposure of the tunnel shaft and the video of the underground tunnel are part of the IDF’s attempt to bolster its argument that Hamas is using the hospital for its own purposes.
The IDF’s ability to continue its operation in Gaza and Israel’s credibility are at stake as the number of people killed in Gaza exceeds 12,000, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.
The IDF says one of its missions in Gaza is to destroy Hamas, but amid mounting international criticism, Israel must conclusively prove that the terrorist organization is using Gaza’s civilian population and infrastructure as cover for Israel to justify continued war.