In the middle of the war between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza, already in its thirtieth day, Hagari revealed in a press conference data from his intelligence services and the military, according to which the Indonesian hospital and the Qatari hospital, both in the northern part of the Strip, are used for “covert terrorist activities of Hamas”.
The spokesman explained that the two medical centers were being used as part of an underground tunnel structure for Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.
He referred to a Qatari hospital where, as part of their ground attack, Israeli soldiers discovered an “opening of a tunnel used for terrorist activities” in their facility.
“The terrorists also shot our soldiers from inside the hospital,” Hagari added, reiterating his accusation that Hamas was using Gaza’s civilians as human shields and denouncing the Islamist group as “weak without human shields.”
On the other hand, he also accused Hamas of building an Indonesian hospital years ago as a hideout for its “command center”, between the towns of Beit Hanoun and Jabaliya in northern Gaza, where fighting is now taking place on the ground. Since the start of the Israeli ground offensive on October 27, 29 Israeli soldiers have already died.
According to Hagari, the evidence that the hospital is connected to the militants’ underground network is that Israel identified missile launchers 75 meters from the medical center allegedly connected to the underground system.
Hamas “places weapons under schools, mosques, houses”, the spokesman added, reiterating allegations that Al Shifa, the Strip’s main hospital in Gaza City, is headquartered in a Hamas tunnel.
Since the start of the war on October 7, Palestinians in Gaza have denounced Israel’s repeated threats to evacuate health facilities under threat of attack, as well as attacks in their neighborhoods, causing damage, injuries or even deaths.
On Friday, 15 people were killed in an Israeli attack on an ambulance in front of Shifa Hospital in Gaza.
Israel says it is trying to minimize civilian casualties and attacks based on intelligence, while Palestinians and rights groups accuse Tel Aviv of indiscriminately targeting densely populated areas.
Considered a terrorist group by the European Union, the United States and Israel, the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israeli territory on October 7, killing more than 1,400 people, most of them civilians, and taking more than 200 hostages. Held captive in the Gaza Strip.
Israel launched a strong retaliation against the impoverished Palestinian enclave, which has been under Hamas control since 2007, with cuts to food, water, electricity and fuel supplies and daily bombings, following a ground offensive that ended the siege on Thursday. Gaza
According to the latest Hamas statement released today, Israel’s retaliatory attacks have killed 9,770 people in the Gaza Strip since October 7, including 4,800 children and 2,550 women.
At least 345 Israeli soldiers have been killed since October 7, the army said.