Israel Claims Hamas Uses Gaza Hospital to Store Weapons
Israel has alleged that Hamas, the Palestinian militant group, is using hospitals to store explosives and weapons for terrorist activities. The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) has shared a video on social media, claiming that Hamas has turned the MRI building at Al-Shifa Hospital into an operational headquarters and storage facility for technological equipment.
The IDF has continued its operation at Al-Shifa Hospital, which it claims is being used by Hamas as a command center while hiding behind 2,000 civilians seeking shelter. The Gaza health ministry, which is run by Hamas, reports that Israeli bulldozers have destroyed parts of the hospital’s southern entrance.
In a video released by the IDF, military spokesperson Jonathan Conricus, accompanied by camerapersons, allegedly entered the hospital to provide evidence of Hamas’ weapons cache inside the premises. The video, claimed to be unedited by the IDF, shows damaged CCTV cameras at the MRI building of Al-Shifa Hospital.
“Without any doubt, Hamas systematically uses hospitals for its military operations in violation of international law,” said Mr. Conricus inside the hospital.
The spokesperson and camerapersons then proceed to the MRI room, where they find military “grab-bags” filled with weapons and ammunition for grab-and-go situations in a war zone. The camera zooms in on a bag that clearly shows an AK-47, cartridges, and a grenade, among other items.
“These weapons have absolutely no business being inside a hospital,” Mr. Conricus stated in the IDF video. “The reason they are here is because Hamas put them here, as they use this place, like many other hospitals and ambulances, for illicit military purposes.”
Both the Israeli military and Hamas have accused each other of waging a “propaganda war” since the region descended into chaos following the October 7 attacks. Morphed images and decontextualized videos unrelated to the ongoing crisis have often circulated on social media with false claims.
For instance, the IDF claimed that a Hamas-operated tunnel leads to Gaza’s Rantsi Hospital. In a video similar to the one released recently, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari enters the hospital’s basement through the tunnel, where he finds Hamas’ operational gears. Mr. Hagari points to a poster on a wall with Arabic inscriptions, claiming it mentions “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood” – the name given to the October 7 Hamas attack – and a roster of Hamas operatives guarding Israeli hostages.
However, multiple fact-checkers have refuted this claim, countering that the inscriptions are simply the days of the week written in Arabic script.
