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Pictures and video clips were said to confirm that Hamas had a command center at the al-Shifa hospital.
But the Israeli military’s evidence is now facing criticism.
“Israel will have to show a lot more than a handful of ‘grab and go’ rifles to justify closing down the northern Gaza hospital,” writes Kenneth Roth, former head of Human Rights Watch, on X.
Almost a day after the military operation against Gaza’s largest hospital, the al-Shifa hospital, the Israeli military (IDF) last night shared pictures and videos of various objects that were said to prove that Hamas had a command center in the hospital.
Kalashnikov rifles, bulletproof vests, grenades and Hamas clothing were some of the items on display.
IDF spokesperson Jonathan Conricus described the findings in a film as “the tip of an iceberg”.
The material has not yet been verified by any third party.
Hamas has stated that the film is staged.
Post was edited
And although many observers – and even the US government – stated that it is likely that Hamas has military activities in civilian places such as hospitals, there have been critical reactions to the IDF’s photos and videos from al-Shifa.
The first clip shared by the IDF on X (formerly Twitter) from the hospital was said to be unedited and show “the undeniable truth”.
That post has since been removed.
The next post contained the same video, but a few seconds shorter. A laptop displayed as a Hamas find was now masked.
The comments and criticism after the edit were not long in coming on social media.
“Has special protection”
But even from established quarters, question marks have been raised.
The human rights organization Human Rights Watch’s UN chief Louis Charbonneau says to the Reuters news agency:
– Hospitals have special protection under international humanitarian law. Doctors, nurses, ambulances and other hospital staff must be allowed to do their jobs and patients must be protected. Hospitals only lose this protection if it can be shown that harmful acts were carried out from the premises. The Israeli government has not provided any proof of that.
The organization’s former head Kenneth Roth signed X:
“Israel will have to show a lot more than a handful of ‘grab and go’ rifles to justify shutting down northern Gaza’s hospitals, with enormous consequences for a civilian population in urgent medical need.”
“Anticlimax”
In a analysis in the Israeli newspaper Jerusalem Post the newspaper’s military correspondent Yonah Jeremy Bob called the whole thing an “anti-climax” and wrote that he was surprised that the IDF did not say that any Hamas members had been arrested in the raid. He also noted that more Hamas-linked items appear to have been found when the IDF raided the Rantisi Children’s Hospital a few days ago than during the major operation against al-Shifa.
“Taking over Shifa would be the great highlight of the war, showing Hamas at its most broken, and perhaps even Hamas leaders kidnapped or killed. Instead, the operation has raised questions about whether Israel can achieve its long-term goal of suppressing Hamas,” he also wrote.
“Weak excuses”
People in Gaza like the news agency Reuters spoke to state that what is shown in the IDF video is nowhere near what an extensive underground command center might look like.
Staff at al-Shifa hospital have repeatedly stated that there is no military activity in the buildings.
Likewise, Nahed Abu Taaema, director of Nasser Hospital in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, told Reuters after the first day of the raid.
– These are weak excuses. The resistance movement does not exist inside medical buildings.
– The Israelis claimed that there were command centers in al-Shifa, and when they found nothing, they stood there disgraced in front of the whole world, and had to make excuses for their previous lies.
Continued fighting
On Thursday, al-Jazeera stated that fighting continued at al-Shifa and that, among other things, tanks were at the site and gunfire was heard.
The channel stated that the Israeli military told families living near the hospital to evacuate from their homes, but that many did not dare to leave for fear of Israeli snipers.
The UN also stated that it is reviewing the possibilities of evacuating the hospital, but that there are logistical limitations.
For example, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent, there is not enough fuel for ambulances to evacuate the patients.
According to the World Health Organization, a total of 600 patients, of which 27 with critical injuries, are in the hospital.