Israel says Hamas headquarters is under Al-Shifa Hospital

In a press conference from the Israel Defense Forces, spokesman Daniel Hagari presented evidence to the media to confirm that the Hamas headquarters is located under the largest hospital in the Gaza Strip.

According to the IDF, there is a network of tunnels and rooms that make up a large-scale military base of the Al Qassam Brigades beneath Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City. According to Hagari, hundreds of armed members the terrorist organization took shelter in the hospital complex after the events of Oct. 7.

According to Hagari's statements, there are several tunnels leading to the underground base from outside the hospital, so Hamas terrorists do not need to enter the hospital to reach it. However, Hagari added, there is also an entrance to the underground complex from inside one of the medical center's rooms.

Along with several explanatory graphics, the IDF spokesperson offered samples of several phone calls made from Gaza discussing the terrorist base beneath the hospital. "Hamas uses Shifa hospital as a shield for Hamas' terrorist infrastructure," Hagari explained. "By operating from these hospitals, Hamas not only endangers the lives of Israeli civilians, but also exploits innocent civilians in Gaza."

Complaint by Amnesty International and the Washington Post

This is not the first time it has been claimed that the Shifa hospital houses an underground Hamas military complex. The Washington Post and several media outlets carried out investigations that pointed back in 2014 to the same conclusion that the IDF confirmed this Friday.

Along with them, Amnesty International claimed in 2015 that Hamas committed political crimes against the citizens to remain in power in the Gaza Strip. These abuses, which include torture, were carried out in the same premises as Al-Shifa Hospital, which Hamas was already using as a center for military and political operations.

Rockets launched from the hospital

Spokesman Daniel Hagari mentioned that Hamas has a rocket launch and control center from its headquarters under the hospital. Finnish media outlet Helsingin Sanomat, reported this back in 2014. In that year, during the fight between the terrorist group and the IDF, cameras recorded the moment when rockets were fired from Gaza. According to the report, the projectiles came from the same premises as Al-Shifa Hospital.

The Finnish reporter on the scene, Aishi Zidan, who was in Gaza to capture and chronicle the horrors of war, stumbled upon something she was not expecting. "Shifa hospital was full of women and children victims of this horrible war. I described their stories in detail," Zidan recounted after the events on Facebook. "During the night someone launched a rocket somewhere behind the hospital," she described when she recounted what happened, which was also shared by the Israeli press.