The Israeli army revealed the presence of an underground Hamas command center at one of the Gaza hospitals that has been under attack in the last few days, the Rantisi Pediatric Hospital.
Brig. Gen. Daniel Hagari, spokesman for the IDF (Israeli Defence Force) said that the center contained suicide vests, rocket-propelled grenades and a variety of weapons. There were also baby bottles, signifying, according to Hagari, that some of the Israeli hostages captured during the 7 October assault were held there. There were also a chair with ropes, and improvised toilets.
Hagari said there was evidence and independent intelligence that members of Hamas came back to the hospital directly after the assault. The general, showing a video of what he declared was the basement of the hospital, said that an IDF robot also found new underground tunnels and evidence that the Hamas militia were siphoning off electricity from the hospital for their own use.
Israel has been internationally criticized for bombing the areas around several hospitals in Gaza, and for besieging the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, without electricity and oxygen in the last two days, putting at risk the lives of patients and especially premature newborns. The Israeli army consistently replied that Hamas commanders are hiding underneath the hospitals, using not just civilians but all patients as human shields.
The Rantisi hospital was encircled by Israeli tanks on November 9.
The Hamas-Israeli war killed at least 1,200 Israelis in its first day, when about 240 people were taken hostages, and since October 7 it has killed more than 11,000 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly from Israeli bombs.
