CNN –
Gaza’s largest hospital, Al-Shifa, has become a flashpoint in Israel’s war in the enclave, which began when Hamas militants crossed the border into Israel on October 7, killing around 1,200 people.
Palestinians and humanitarian organizations say the current fighting in and around Al-Shifa is evidence of Israel’s wanton disregard for civilian life in Gaza, while Israel accuses Hamas of using the medical center as a shield for its operations.
In addition to providing medical care, the hospital was also an important refuge for Palestinian civilians fleeing the Israeli bombardment in Gaza.
Since the beginning of his operation in Al-Shifa On October 15, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had found a tunnel shaft and military equipment, but had not yet provided evidence that a large command and control center was supposedly located there. Hamas denies the allegations. CNN has not verified Israel’s or Hamas’ claims.
Here’s what we know so far.
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 was digging under Gaza City have.
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.
CNN cannot independently verify Israel’s claims that Hamas operates from the hospital.
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.
Senior U.S. officials have repeatedly declined to elaborate on how they can substantiate Israel’s claims, given that the U.S. does not have a presence on the ground in Gaza.
Israel’s allegations have been vehemently denied by Hamas, the Gaza Health Ministry and hospital officials.
The director general of the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health, Dr. Medhat Abbas, told CNN that hospitals in the enclave “are only used to treat patients” and are not used to “hide anyone.”
After Israel launched its operation, Hamas accused the U.S. of giving Israel a “green light… for further massacres of civilians” by promoting what it called a “false narrative” that there was one somewhere in Al-Shifa Militant command center is located, strengthened.
The Israeli attack on Al-Shifa has deepened a serious humanitarian crisis, Palestinian health officials said.
At least 41 patients, including three premature babies, died in hospital between November 11 and 16 due to a lack of electricity during Israel’s fuel blockade, the Palestinian Authority Health Ministry in Ramallah said, citing medical sources in the Hamas-controlled enclave.
After the raid began on October 15, Israeli soldiers said they found 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, alleging “that the terrorist organization is using the hospital for terrorist purposes.”
Hamas has rejected both results as “baseless lies.”
The bodies of two Israeli hostages – a 65-year-old woman and an Israeli soldier – were also found near Al-Shifa Hospital, the Israeli military said.
To support its claims that Hamas has a control center beneath the hospital, the Israeli military released a video showing a tunnel shaft on 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. CNN cannot independently verify what the tunnel is being used for, and the IDF has yet to provide clear evidence that the shaft has a military purpose.
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Israel says it is still working to uncover the tunnel infrastructure, adding that it will provide more evidence in “a few weeks.”
Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus claimed mobile items such as weapons could have been easily removed before Israeli forces arrived. Another official said soldiers at the hospital complex “went one building at a time, searching every floor.”
CNN analysis of footage released online by the IDF ahead of visits by international media outlets suggests that the armament in Al-Shifa may have been rearranged.
An IDF video from November 15 shows Conricus touring the facility, with an AK-47 weapon seen behind an MRI machine. Fox News and the BBC were subsequently granted access to the hospital. In their reports filmed after the IDF clip, two AK-47 guns can be seen in the same location. It is unclear where the second assault rifle came from. CNN has reached out to the IDF for clarification.
The sprawling Al-Shifa medical facility in the western part of Gaza City was built in 1946, when Gaza was still under British rule. It has long been considered the backbone of medical care across the besieged Gaza Strip and has been affected in previous conflicts between Hamas and Israel.
The United Nations has demanded access to the site for an independent investigation into the competing allegations and warned that hospitals should not be used as battlefields for either side.
This is a developing story and will be updated.