Israel has released footage from inside the tunnel situated beneath the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza. The video shows the underground structure having rooms with beds, a kitchen, a bathroom and even air conditioning. The IDF says this proves beyond a doubt that Hamas is ‘exploiting civilian buildings'
A week ago, troops of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stormed the premises of the Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest medical facility in the Gaza Strip, to find and destroy Hamas militants, receiving flak from several organisations and countries. Days later, they revealed that they had found a
55-metre tunnel under the premises, and alleged that it was being used by the Hamas militants. And on Wednesday (22 November), the IDF has released extensive footage of what secrets this tunnel holds, showcasing just how dangerous these underground constructions are and how they serve the Hamas in their war against Israel. The secrets of the tunnel, revealed Members of the IDF on Wednesday released a video exposing the tunnel network under the
Al-Shifa Hospital. The footage is explosive as it shows the medical facility as being used as a nerve centre for the terror groups’ operations. Last week, the IDF had stated that they had found a 55-metre tunnel at Al-Shifa, which ended at a blast door.
Now, the troops have breached that door and revealed just what the
Hamas militants are hiding inside. The IDF says that the tunnel, which goes under the so-called Qatari building at Shifa, houses various rooms, a kitchen, a bathroom and a stockpile of weapons, explosives and drones. Moreover, the Israeli troops alleged that the rooms inside the tunnel were air conditioned, exposing just how sophisticated these constructions are. [caption id=“attachment_13422882” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]![]()
Israeli soldiers stand near the opening to a tunnel at Al Shifa Hospital compound in Gaza City. Israeli forces had earlier said that this tunnel was 55-metres long and 10 metres deep. Reuters[/caption] In the video released, the entrance of the tunnel is small enough for just one person to drop in at a time, but expands into a huge labyrinth below.
The first visible room in the base followed by a long, white room with a large air conditioning system installed. The room connects to another tunnel with a small kitchen. The video also shows smaller rooms inside the facility, which the IDF claims also housed some of the hostages who were kidnapped during Hamas’ 7 October attack on Israel. Moreover, the IDF claims that it has seized scores of weapons from Hamas, including grenades, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, and multiple drones designed to deliver explosives. The IDF also showed that the tunnels contained fuse boxes, which they claim Hamas uses to siphon power from the hospital in order to aid their terror activities. [caption id=“attachment_13422922” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]![]()
A view of the reinforced door inside the Hamas tunnel underneath the Al Shifa Hospital. Reuters[/caption] The IDF said in a statement, “The findings unequivocally display Hamas’ deliberate method of operating underneath hospitals. The terrorist organisation also exploits the hospital buildings, using them to store weapons in and as terrorist headquarters.”
**Also read: How Israel army’s secret Unit 504 exposed the ‘misuse’ of Gaza hospitals by Hamas** Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari added that the world needed to hold Hamas responsible for operating beneath a hospital, calling it “a war crime.” On Thursday, the IDF also revealed a second video which showed that the tunnel from Al Shifa Hospital was connected a civilian house nearby.
The IDF commenting on the video said, “Hamas deliberately builds the tunnels in the places they know it will be the most covered.” [caption id=“attachment_13422932” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]![]()
Israel’s Yahalom Unit has been tasked with searching and destroying the tunnels built by Hamas underneath Gaza. Reuters[/caption] Israel’s anti-tunnel operations The video reiterates Israel’s claims that Hamas uses
medical facilities and civilian infrastructure to carry out their terror operations. Since the war began, Israel has been tracking and destroying the
tunnels that Hamas has built over the years under Gaza; incidentally, the labyrinth of tunnels, which spreads for 300 miles is also called the ‘Gaza Metro’. As of Wednesday, ahead of the anticipated four-day truce, Israel said that it had uncovered and destroyed some 400 terror tunnel shafts in the Gaza Strip since the start of the ground offensive last month. The Yahalom Unit has been tasked with
hunting and destroying these tunnels. Created in 1995 as part of the IDF’s Combat Engineering Corps, this unit is made up of elite commandos who are trained for underground warfare and other subterranean operations. [caption id=“attachment_13422952” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]![]()
As of Wednesday (22 November), the IDF had identified and destroyed 400 terror tunnel shafts in the Gaza Strip. Reuters[/caption] “The unit’s role includes special sabotage missions, demolition and explosion of buildings, sabotage of enemy infrastructure, handling of explosives, preparing explosive devices and bombs, neutralising enemy explosive devices, clearing complex minefields, locating and destroying terror tunnels,” the IDF had said in 2021. “At times, the unit uses robots and many remote controlled devices, without endangering human life.” And this unit has been using different technologies and methods to track and destroy tunnels. Earlier, there were reports that the IDF was using drones and dogs to locate the underground constructions and then using sponge bombs to destroy them. Hamas and the Gaza Health Ministry deny all claims of tunnels below the Al-Shifa Hospital. A Hamas spokesman said Israel had besieged Gaza’s hospitals as a part of an effort to break the will of Palestinians and push them off their land. Experts speak Many experts have expressed scepticism of the ‘evidence’ being presented by the Israeli forces. John Spencer, a retired US Army officer and chair of urban warfare studies at the US Military Academy, told the Wall Street Journal that it wasn’t the scale of the presence Hamas had inside these tunnels was yet to be proven. He said Israel would need to produce more evidence, for example, showing layers of tunnels to back up its claims. Paul R Pillar, a non-resident senior fellow at Georgetown University’s Center for Security Studies, added, “None of this proves much of anything,” saying the evidence so far amounted to a hole in the ground and some weapons and other military gear. With inputs from agencies
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