The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) accused the terrorist group Hamas this Friday (27) of maintaining its main base of operations under the Shifa hospital, the largest in the Gaza Strip.
In a press conference, the main excerpts of which were published by the Times of Israel newspaper, IDF spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, stated that underground complexes beneath the hospital are used to coordinate attacks against Israel and store weapons.
“Hamas terrorists operate in and under Shifa hospital, and other hospitals in Gaza, with a network of terrorist tunnels,” Hagari said.
“Hamas wages war in hospitals. By operating from these hospitals, Hamas not only endangers the lives of Israeli civilians, but also exploits innocent civilians in Gaza,” said the spokesperson, who added that the terrorist group resorts to this tactic “because it knows that IDF distinguishes between terrorists and civilians” in their attacks.
Izzat al-Rishq, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, called Israel’s accusation “unfounded.”
“These lies represent a prelude to a new massacre against our people, greater than that of the Baptist al-Ahli Hospital,” said the terrorist in a statement, in reference to an institution where hundreds of people died in an explosion last week.
Hamas blamed Israel, but Tel Aviv released footage to argue that the tragedy occurred due to a rocket launch error by another terrorist group, Islamic Jihad.
#Israel #accuses #Hamas #maintaining #main #base #Gazas #largest #hospital