The images are chilling. The Israeli military released videos purporting to be from surveillance cameras at Gaza's Al-Shifa Hospital, showing hostages being brought into the compound on 7 October.
"These findings prove that the Hamas terror organization used the Al-Shifa hospital complex as terrorist infrastructure on the day of the massacre," the IDF and Israeli intelligence said in a statement.
EXPOSED: This is documentation from Shifa Hospital from the day of the massacre, October 7, 2023, between the hours of 10:42 a.m and 11:01 a.m. in which hostages, a Nepalese civilian and a Thai civilian, were abducted from Israeli territory are seen surrounded by armed Hamas... pic.twitter.com/a5udjBw4wF
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) November 19, 2023
In one of the videos, a man is seen being taken away on a stretcher surrounded by several men, at least four of whom are armed. In another, an individual appears to struggle as he is pushed down a hallway. According to the military, he is a Nepalese citizen and a Thai citizen.
Hostages 'not yet located'
"Here you can see Hamas taking a hostage inside," IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari told a news briefing. "We have not yet located these two hostages," he added. We don't know where they are."
The footage, whose authenticity we could not immediately verify, appears to be dated October 7, 2023, the day the Palestinian Islamist movement carried out its attack on Israel, the most violent in the country's history since 1948, killing an estimated 1,200 people, mostly civilians according to Israeli authorities, and taking some 240 hostages.
A 55 m tunnel under the hospital
On Sunday, the IDF made more than one revelation about the hospital, which it has been searching since Wednesday for a Palestinian Hamas military base. Late in the afternoon, the Israeli army claimed to have discovered a 55-meter-long tunnel it said was used "for terrorism." Once again, images of this tunnel were broadcast by the army on X.
OPERATIONAL UPDATE: IDF and ISA forces revealed a significant 55-meter-long terrorist tunnel, 10 meters underneath the Shifa Hospital complex during an intelligence-based operation.
The tunnel entrance contains various defense mechanisms, such as a blast-proof door and a firing... pic.twitter.com/tU4J6BD4ZG
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) November 19, 2023
The tunnel is 10 metres deep, the army said, while dozens of patients are still in the hospital complex, the largest in the Gaza Strip, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
"Grenade launchers, explosives and Kalashnikov rifles" found at the scene
"A steep staircase leads to the entrance of the tunnel" equipped with several means of defense including an armored door, the army said in a statement. "These types of gates are used by Hamas terrorists to prevent Israeli forces from entering command centers."
The tunnel was discovered in an area of the hospital under a hangar containing weapons, including "grenade launchers, explosives and Kalashnikov rifles", she said, adding that soldiers were continuing to make their way underground.
Israeli forces have besieged the hospital since Wednesday, leading to the evacuation of many of its patients. The army claims that the Islamist movement Hamas has a hideout there, which the movement denies.
On Saturday, hundreds of people sheltering in the hospital were evacuated as they became trapped in the fighting between the IDF and Hamas. These civilians headed for the Salaheddine road, which leads to southern Gaza.