The Israeli military claims that Hamas is hiding key entrances and exits to its 300-mile tunnel network beneath Gaza’s main medical center, al-Shifa hospital.
“Hamas has turned hospitals into command and control centers and hideouts for Hamas terrorists and commanders,” Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, Israel’s top military spokesman, said at a news conference, according to Reuters.
Hagari presented photographs, diagrams and audio recordings that he said provided evidence of the militant group’s underground operations under medical facilities.
The spokesman said Hamas was using several hospitals, including the busy Al Shifa center, to conceal command posts and entrances and exits to its tunnel network.
Hamas has denied the tactic, arguing that Israel was using the claim as a pretext to attack hospitals.
Israel said Hamas uses the tunnels for operational purposes. Getty Images Israel is expected to launch a ground operation in Gaza in retaliation for the October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks.APAImages/Shutterstock
“There is no true basis for what was reported by the enemy army spokesman,” Hamas official Ezzat El-Reshiq said on Telegram.
El-Reshiq, a member of the group’s political arm, said Israel held the press conference as “a prelude to committing a new massacre against our people,” Reuters reported.
Israel has continued to bomb Gaza in retaliation for the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas attack that killed 1,400 people and injured hundreds more.
Hamas has denied that it is using hospitals to protect its military operations. APAImages/Shutterstock Israel claims Hamas is using hospitals to hide tunnels.REUTERS
Reprisal attacks have killed about 7,000 people in the 20 days since the attacks, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
Around 200 hostages captured by Hamas are believed to be held somewhere in the tunnel system, and rescuing them is a top priority for the Israel Defense Forces.
Hoping to address growing humanitarian concerns, U.N. officials have pushed for a ceasefire to allow aid to be delivered to the blockaded enclave, where even phone signals were blocked and the Internet was cut Friday night. night, according to the BBC.
Approximately one million residents have been displaced by the violence. Israel cut off all fuel entering the Gaza Strip after the October 7 terrorist attack. Hamas terror attack and fuel supplies for generators are running low, the organization warned Friday.
Hagari claimed that Hamas was using fuel reserves in several hospitals to support its “terrorist infrastructure.”
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Source: vtt.edu.vn