The Israeli Army claimed this Sunday to have found a “fortified tunnel” under the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, where it claims that Hamas has its main command center, and showed photos and videos of the discovery.
“Based on intelligence information from the Israel Defense Forces and the Shin Bet (internal security agency), soldiers exposed a terrorist tunnel 55 meters long and 10 meters deep beneath the Shifa hospital complex,” said a military statement. Israeli forces continue to work to discover the full route of the tunnel, he added.
In the videos released by the Army, a deep staircase is seen leading to the entrance to the tunnel shaft, which “consists of defense means such as an explosion-proof door and a shooting hole,” the Israeli Army notes.
“The terrorist organization Hamas uses this type of door to prevent Israeli forces from entering command centers and underground assets belonging to Hamas,” he adds.
The military statement specifies that the tunnel shaft was discovered under a shed, “next to a vehicle that contained numerous weapons, including anti-tank launchers, explosives and Kalashnikov rifles.”
The Army also released aerial photographs of the hospital where the “found Hamas terrorist infrastructure” is seen, including “explosives in the physiotherapy rooms, an interrogation room in the cardiology area, weapons and intelligence in the MRI center and a tunnel well that was located near the Qatari hospital building,” he explains.
“The results clearly demonstrate that Hamas uses numerous buildings in the hospital complex as cover for infrastructure and terrorist activities. This is further evidence of the cynical way in which Hamas uses the residents of the Gaza Strip as a human shield for its murderous terrorist activities. “said a military spokesman.
Al-Shifa Hospital, the most important medical center in the Gaza Strip, has been under siege by Israeli forces for several days, and last week, ground forces raided the facility.
Last Wednesday, the Israeli Army announced the discovery of Hamas weapons and combat equipment in the hospital, which was evacuated on Saturday after being completely cut off and after several days without electricity, drinking water, medicine, and in the midst of an imminent outbreak of infection due to housing some 170 corpses that could not be refrigerated.
Among those evacuated were thousands of displaced people and 31 premature babies, who were able to reach a hospital in the south of the Strip this Sunday, from where they will be transferred to Egypt on Monday to receive adequate care. It is estimated that about 300 people remain inside the hospital, including critical patients and medical personnel.