In late October, Israel accused Hamas of using Hospital, one of the largest in the Gaza Strip, as a shield for its headquarters, operations and hostage trafficking. That was the information released by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), which on Tuesday was confirmed by the United States through John Kirby, spokesman for the Department of Defense.

"BREAKING: US spokesperson John Kirby says 'We have information that Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad use some hospitals in the Gaza Strip, including al Shifa, and tunnels underneath them to conceal and to support their military operations and to hold hostages,''" The Spectator Index posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

‘That is a war crime’

According to Daniel Hagari, spokesman for the IDF, the terrorist group uses a network of underground tunnels that pass under the hospital, so they do not need to enter the facilities. However, he also added that there is an entrance to the underground complex from inside one of the rooms of the hospital.

To accompany his claims, Hagari had shown some evidence, among which were telephone calls made from Gaza in where the existence of the terrorist base under the hospital was mentioned. "Hamas uses Shifa hospital as a shield for Hamas terror infrastructure. Hamas wages war from hospitals. By operating from these hospitals, Hamas not only endangers the lives of Israeli civilians; but also exploits innocent Gazan civilians," he added in late October.

According to Kirby's claims on Tuesday, the information came from a variety of intelligence sources. He also added that the Biden administration had declassified some data on Tuesday so it could share its findings with reporters. Finally, he stressed that what Hamas and Islamic Jihad are doing with hospitals constitutes a "war crime."

"To be clear, we do not support striking a hospital from the air. We do not want to see a firefight in a hospital where innocent people, helpless people, sick people are simply trying to get the medical care they deserve," the official said.