2023-11-23 11:08:00
The Israeli army showed bunkers that belonged to Hamas
The Israeli military on Wednesday unveiled what it said was a Hamas military facility beneath Gaza’s largest hospital, showing what appeared to be an underground dormitory to a group of foreign journalists who were given a rare glimpse inside the besieged enclave.
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Dozens of soldiers escorted journalists through a narrow stone tunnel – which the army said stretched 150 meters – to a series of underground bunkers beneath the Al Shifa hospital in the shattered Gaza City.
The rooms, located at the end of the tunnel, had air conditioning, a kitchen, a bathroom and a pair of metal cots in a room of rusty white tiles. They seemed to be out of use.
The tunnel under the largest hospital in Gaza (AP) A room after passing through the extensive tunnel (Archyde.com) The bunkers are equipped with a kitchen, bathroom, air conditioning (Archyde.com)
Since Israel declared war on Hamas on October 7, it has repeatedly accused the Islamic militant group of using Gaza hospitals as cover for military use. He has paid special attention to Al Shifa, claiming that Hamas has hidden command centers and bunkers beneath the hospital’s sprawling grounds.
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Israel has yet to reveal this alleged center, but the military has described the underground hideout as its most important discovery to date. Hamas and the hospital administration have denied Israel’s accusations.
“Al Shifa Hospital is the largest hospital in Gaza and also Hamas’s largest terrorist center,” declared Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, chief spokesman for the Israeli army, as shelling thundered nearby. “Hamas battalion commanders were carrying out command and control tasks, firing rockets from here.”
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The Associated Press could not independently verify Hagari’s claims.
The entrance to the hospital complex (Archyde.com)
The AP was allowed access to Gaza on the condition that its journalist remain with the Israeli military convoy during the four-hour visit and submit all material to a military censor before publication. Currently, there is no other way for foreign journalists to access the enclave.
The war was sparked by the Hamas cross-border attack on October 7, in which some 1,200 people were killed and another 240 taken hostage. The intense Israeli air campaign and devastating ground invasion have leveled entire neighborhoods, and more than 11,000 Palestinians have died in the fighting, according to health authorities in the Hamas-ruled territory.
Israel, bent on overthrowing Hamas leaders in Gaza, describes the high death toll as the inevitable cost of fighting militants who use civilians as human shields and fire rockets from densely populated neighborhoods. Israel says at least some of the hostages were taken to Shifa.
On Wednesday, Israeli soldiers showed foreign journalists weapons they said they found in Shifa, including dozens of AK-47 assault rifles, 20 grenades and several drones. Hagari said the cache was just a small sample.
The army presented weapons seized in the hospital (Archyde.com)
The Israeli army has raged through northern Gaza for the past month, leaving a trail of destruction in its effort to bomb Hamas’s tunnel network and other targets. Hamas fighters have used the underground network to ambush Israeli troops. In addition to the tunnel it showed to reporters, the army says it has discovered two other wells near Shifa.
Although the trip was strictly controlled by the Israeli military, journalists were able to get a glimpse of life in Gaza. From outside the hospital doors, at least a couple dozen exhausted Palestinians could be seen gathering their belongings, apparently ahead of an evacuation.
Hundreds of patients and doctors remain trapped in the besieged hospital. Thousands more people who had taken shelter in their courtyard fled south last week as Israeli tanks approached and fighting intensified.
At one point, several Palestinians leaning out of a window of the Shifa stared at the journalists. A man gave a thumbs up. Others began to scream. Israeli soldiers pushed the journalists aside.
What remained on the ghostly streets of Gaza City were the ruins of collapsed buildings, scattering debris onto the streets. The façade of an abandoned building had been blown away, revealing furnished living rooms, glassware in cabinets somehow intact, mirrors still mounted on the walls. Fortified excavators scraped sand and gravel to clear the way for more tanks.
Children look at the soldiers around the hospital (Archyde.com)
About 20 Israeli soldiers sat on the side of the road. They smiled and posed for the journalists’ cameras.
“There is great morale. Everyone is willing to do what needs to be done. “Everyone is willing to fight for the country,” said Sergeant Oren, an Israeli soldier who said he was originally from Los Angeles. “Even when it’s hard, you sit with your friends and joke around a little. At the end of the day, you know why you are here.”
The city’s promenade, once bustling with cafes and coffee shops, had disappeared. In its place was rubble and a single lifesaving hut. The latest bombardments sent black columns into the sky. In the distance the sound of gunfire could be heard.
In the midst of the devastation, a line of Palestinian evacuees could be seen carrying their bags and other belongings. As the journalists passed by the Israeli army convoy, they showed their identity cards to the armored personnel carriers. Some waved white flags.
(With information from AP)
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