BREAKING: IDF uncovers tunnel with bathroom, kitchen under Gaza hospital, allegedly used as Hamas command centre. Watch

The Israeli forces discovered a reinforced tunnel adjacent to Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza on Wednesday (Nov 22). The tunnel, featuring amenities such as a bathroom, kitchen, and air-conditioned meeting room, was identified as a command post used by Hamas fighters in a video released by the IDF....CONTINUE READING

The entrance to the tunnel, with a height of approximately two metres (6-1/2 feet), was accessible through an outdoor shaft within the hospital complex grounds. These grounds, previously densely populated by tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians, were asserted by the army to have functioned as a human shield during the conflict.

“That’s the way that they survive because they use the hospital as a human shield that protects them,” said Colonel Elad Tsuri, commander of an Israeli armoured brigade that found the tunnel, in the video released by IDF. “And here they can stay for a long time. There is a room with air conditioning inside,” he added.

Israel has consistently accused Hamas of using the Shifa hospital complex as a central command and control centre, forming part of a broader strategy to conceal its forces within the civilian population.

Both Hamas and hospital officials vehemently deny these allegations. The hospital site has become a focal point for accusations of war crimes from both sides, with Palestinians asserting that Israel targets hospitals and Israel contending that these sites are used to shelter armed fighters.

Israeli authorities speculated that there might be another exit from the tunnel yet to be opened, expressing confidence that it led to the city and connected to another opening in a Gaza kindergarten.

Israel has faced international criticism for its Gaza campaign, including attacks on Shifa, the enclave’s largest hospital. The army displayed numerous guns, grenades, and explosives collected in recent days from within the hospital, a motor home, and nearby cars.

In Washington, the White House asserted that independent intelligence supported Israel’s claim of Hamas using Gaza’s hospitals, including Shifa, for military purposes. In response, Hamas accused the US of adopting a false narrative, describing it as a green light for Israel to commit more civilian massacres.