Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest in the Gaza Strip, has become the epicenter of ground fighting between the Israeli army and Hamas. On the night of Tuesday, November 14 to Wednesday, November 15, the IDF, which accuses the terror group of having set up a command center in the bowels of the establishment, carried out "precise and targeted operations" there. On X (formerly Twitter), videos and photos in which the Israeli army displays its finds - "ammunition, weapons and military equipment" that it claims belong to Hamas - follow one another.
In a seven-minute video shot apparently shot during the day and posted last night on the Israel Defense Forces' X account, Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus enters the al-Shifa Medical Imaging Center (MRI) under escort. "What we found, which is only the tip of the iceberg, confirms that Hamas systematically uses this hospital for its military operations," he said. The first evidence, according to the officer, is the destruction of the CCTV cameras. A little further on, in a first room, the soldier unearths a bag in which are "automatic weapons magazines, an AK-47, cartridges, grenades and uniforms obviously hidden behind an MRI machine".
In a closet where electricity meters are installed, Jonathan Conricus reveals weapons he claims were found by the Israeli army. "They were deposited here by Hamas, because it uses this place for its illicit military operations," the military added. In another room, "complete equipment for a Hamas terrorist" is placed on an operating table: a pair of shoes, grenades, a tactical vest and an AK-47. The same paraphernalia is displayed on shelves a few meters away, except that a badge of the al-Qassam Brigades - the military wing of Hamas responsible for the October 7 attack that killed 1200,<> people in Israel according to local authorities - is stuck on a combat vest.
Finally, the communications officer presented a stack of disks "that will be analyzed" and a blurred computer that he said belonged to Hamas and contained "a lot of incriminating evidence." In another video, which has since been deleted and in which the computer is not blurred, the face of Ori Magidish, an Israeli soldier who was taken hostage and later released, appears on the screen. It is not possible to attest to the exact day this video was filmed, nor to authenticate it.
Another post, dated Wednesday, Nov. 15, shows what "the Sheldag Unit and other special units" found at the hospital, whose Arabic name means "house of healing." Presumably, this is all the equipment that appears in the video, with the exception of the computer: the combat vest with the insignia of the al-Qassam Brigades, magazines, grenades and automatic weapons are displayed on carpets on the floor.
Notably, no tunnel has been unearthed by the Israeli army under the hospital. About 500 kilometers of underground tunnels and tunnels built by Hamas men crisscross the Palestinian strip of land. This "Gaza Metro" allows them to move around discreetly, store weapons or equipment, and keep hostages. The IDF regularly accuses Hamas of running these tunnels under buildings that house civilians, including hospitals. On November 5, IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari showed the international media videos of Hamas fighters emerging from a tunnel under al-Sheikh Hamad Hospital.
IDF 'meager finds'
For some experts and specialists in terrorism, these findings by the Israeli army are not enough to claim that al-Shifa hospital currently houses a Hamas operations center. "For the time being, the use of the hospital as a command and control centre has not yet been proven. The meagre finds, compared to what has been presented as the beating heart of the Hamas apparatus, do not justify the media and physical noise," writes France 24 journalist Wassim Nasr on X. A reference to the Israeli raids on the facility where thousands of civilians have taken refuge. "What has been shown is not on par with a command center, but at best with the security of a Hamas hospital or police station," he added in another publication.
As for the tunnels, explained to the microphone of France inter the expert in military strategy Pierre Servent, "it takes some time" to, if they exist, discover them. "If there are exits from tunnels, some of which are hidden, we need ways to discover them, to see if the entrances are booby-trapped," he said.
A hospital at the heart of the various wars
This is not the first time al-Shifa has been in the midst of fighting between Israel and Hamas. In 2007, after Israel disengaged from the Gaza Strip after <> years of occupation, Hamas took control of the hospital after bitter fighting against Fatah, Yasser Arafat's historic Palestinian nationalist party.
In 2008, during the first war between Hamas and Israel, the IDF accused the terror group of using it as a human shield. In future wars, the hospital became the nerve center of Gaza and was targeted by Israeli bombs. "There is a persistent rumour that the entire Hamas government has moved into the cellars of the hospital," LeFigaro wrote in 2012.
In 2014, the same accusations were made, which Hamas immediately denied. For its part, the NGO Amnesty International claims that the terror group tortured and killed Palestinians accused of collaborating with Israel on the premises of the hospital. This is confirmed by the Washington Post: "The hospital has become the headquarters of the Hamas leadership, who can be seen in the corridors and offices."