7:25 a.m. ET, November 17, 2023
What we know about Israel’s finds in Al-Shifa
From CNN’s Sophie Tanno: Israeli soldiers walk through the Al-Shifa hospital complex in Gaza. This still image is from an IDF handover video from November 15th. Israel Defense Forces/Portal
Gaza’s largest hospital, Al-Shifa, has become the focal point of the conflict, which began when Hamas militants crossed the border into Israel on October 7, killing around 1,200 people.
Palestinians say the fighting around Al-Shifa is evidence of Israel’s wanton disregard for civilian life in Gaza, while Israel cites the hospital as an example of Hamas using civilians as human shields.
Since the operation began in Al-Shifa this week, Israel said it had found a tunnel shaft and military equipment, but has not yet provided evidence of a major command and control center.
Here’s what we know so far:
What does Israel say? Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of operating from tunnels beneath the vast Al-Shifa Hospital complex.
In a presentation to the media last month, Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari claimed that Hamas was directing rocket attacks and commanding operations from bunkers under the hospital building, which he said were linked to the network of tunnels Hamas had dug under Gaza City .
The IDF also released an “intelligence-based” illustrated video that it says shows what Hamas headquarters looks like under Al-Shifa. The video shows a 3D diagram of the hospital moving, showing an animated network of alleged tunnels and operating rooms.
The White House has backed Israel’s claims, saying Hamas was stockpiling weapons and operating a command node from Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, citing U.S. intelligence.
Hamas denial: Israel’s claims were vehemently rejected by Hamas and hospital officials.
The director general of the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip, Dr. Medhat Abbas, told CNN that the hospitals in the enclave are “only for treating patients” and are not intended to “hide anyone.”
After Israel launched its offensive, Hamas accused the US of giving Israel a “green light… for further massacres of civilians” by using Israel’s “false narrative” that Al-Shifa was being used as a command center.
CNN has not verified Israel’s or Hamas’ claims.
What evidence has Israel presented? After the raid began on Wednesday, Israel said soldiers located a room in the hospital where they found “technological assets as well as military and combat equipment used by Hamas.”
“In another section of the hospital, soldiers located a Hamas operational command center and technical facilities,” the statement said, suggesting “that the terrorist organization is using the hospital for terrorist purposes.”
Israel has released a video to support its claim about a tunnel shaft at the Al-Shifa compound. In the footage, the shaft appears to be reinforced with concrete. Exposed pipes and cables can also be seen near the surface. Hamas rejected the results as “baseless lies.”
The bodies of two Israeli hostages – a 65-year-old woman and an Israeli soldier – were found near Al-Shifa Hospital this week, the Israeli military said.
Israel said it was still working to uncover the tunnel infrastructure, adding that it would provide further evidence.
UN pushes for access: The United Nations human rights chief has called on Israel to allow his team access to the Gaza Strip to investigate competing claims about the use of al-Shifa as a Hamas base.
“We need to investigate this by having access. “We cannot rely on one party or the other in this matter,” Volker Türk, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, told CNN’s Becky Anderson when asked about the Israeli military’s allegations that Hamas was storing weapons in the country hospital.
He said the situation needed an “independent international investigation because we have different narratives.”