“For years the World Health Organization, the Red Cross and all other United Nations agencies have hidden Hamas’s systematic use of hospitals as shields, jeopardizing their protected status under international law. This was the biggest open secret of the Gaza Strip. For years they said nothing and now we demand that they be held accountable at an international level.” Israeli government spokesperson Eylon Levy stated this in an interview with Adnkronos, underlining that the Jewish State has presented ” incontrovertible evidence ” that Hamas used the al-Shifa hospital, the largest in the Gaza Strip, as a base for “military activities”.
“Just yesterday we discovered a tunnel that extends for 10 meters underground in al-Shifa hospital. The tunnel then continues for 55 meters, leading to an armored door with a hole for shooting”, reveals the spokesperson, denouncing that on the 7th October the Palestinian Islamist group “secretly introduced” hostages into the hospital and “we know that one was executed there (soldier Noa Marciano, ed.). This happened in broad daylight, all the doctors saw them and did not said nothing.”
“Our goal in this war is, first, to continue to destroy all Hamas terrorist and government infrastructure everywhere in the Gaza Strip until the regime falls. And two, to return our hostages safely to their families,” continues the spokesperson, specifying that he cannot comment on the ongoing negotiations for the release of the hostages. “Human lives hang in the balance. We are deeply concerned. Israeli society is concerned about the 240 hostages in the Gaza Strip, including 30 children, who were kidnapped after Hamas death squads massacred, tortured and raped our villages – he explains – We are doing everything possible to bring them home, but these are delicate negotiations and the less we say the better”.
On the possible presence of hostages inside the al-Shifa hospital, Levy declares that “we have strong indications that they were held there. But let’s remember that Israel announced its entry into northern Gaza to the Palestinians more than a month before it happened. We were so keen to avoid civilian casualties that we gave up on the element of surprise and it appears that Hamas had time to escape and move them out of the Shifa compound where they were held before.”
“PA in Gaza? No collaboration with those who pay terrorists”
The Palestinian National Authority (PA) is “an organization that pays salaries to terrorists in Israeli prisons. And our position is that any organization that finances terrorism cannot be a partner in the reconstruction of Gaza,” Levy emphasizes, excluding a possible role for the PNA in Gaza once the war is over.
“I know it sounds crazy, but this is the reason why the United Nations and the US Congress cut aid to the Palestinians a few years ago: because they give economic incentives to terrorists who kill Israelis,” adds the spokesperson, recalling that President Joe Biden was also “very clear” on the matter. “The Gaza Strip can never again be used as a base for terrorism. Whatever partner we deal with to rebuild the Gaza Strip post-Hamas, they must fight terrorism, not finance it”, specifies Levy.
“Hezbollah will not make a mistake in its life”
“If Hezbollah in the north dragged us into a full-scale war we are ready to fight that war and win it. And Hezbollah would have made the mistake of its life.” This is the warning launched by the Israeli government spokesperson, according to whom, however, the Jewish state does not want to open new military fronts nor does it seek regional escalation.
“In this context, it is important that the United States has sent two aircraft carriers to the Middle East to send a very clear message to anyone thinking of entering this war. If you are thinking of messing with the State of Israel, don’t do it,” insists the spokesperson, believing that Israeli forces are now focusing “on the destruction of the terrorists who carried out the October 7 massacre” and “do not seek an escalation of the conflict.”
“Now our message is clear. Israel does not want to fight on multiple fronts at the same time”, reiterates Levy, accusing however the Iranian “regime” of wanting “the violent destruction of the State of Israel and the murder and genocide of the Jewish people. “Iran is the leader of the Axis of Evil that includes Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen. Other rebel groups across the Middle East have sown instability and chaos.”
“we are doing everything we can to avoid civilian casualties”
“We have done everything possible to minimize civilian casualties, urging civilians to stand aside. We have been calling for the evacuation of northern Gaza for a month. We have facilitated humanitarian corridors to allow people to leave even when our soldiers are being attacked by Hamas. We are targeting Hamas terrorists and we are doing everything possible to keep civilians away from danger”, assures Levy, responding to those who accuse Israel of having carried out a massacre of civilians in Gaza, while the toll from he beginning of the ground operation, according to the Palestinian authorities, has risen to over 13 thousand deaths.
“What’s the problem? Hamas launched this war against us and decided to fight it from within densely populated areas because its entire strategy is based on human shields. Hamas has spent 16 years entrenching itself in schools, hospitals , in homes and mosques so they can hide behind women and children and make it difficult for Israel to target these terrorist monsters”, explains the spokesperson, according to whom Israel holds Hamas “responsible for the October 7 massacre, as well as for all the deaths inside the Gaza Strip”.
“This is not the war Israel wanted. It is not a war started by Israel. It is not the war Israel expected. It is the war that Hamas declared on us on the occasion of the October 7 massacre, the bloodiest massacre of Jews since times of the Holocaust, and it is a war we must win. It is a war we are trying to end so as to ensure that Hamas can never attack our people again,” Levy highlights.
“Hamas uses fuel to launch rockets”
Israel is allowing two fuel trucks per day into the Gaza Strip for water and sewerage facilities. “We do this because we do not want the outbreak of disease or epidemics within the Gaza Strip. But it is important to understand why Israel opposes the entry of fuel. Hamas uses it to continue its war against us,” Levy states, commenting on the controversies especially from far-right Israeli politicians, who are against the entry of fuel into the enclave.
“This is our policy. We want to get humanitarian aid to the people who need it and make sure that Hamas cannot steal it, and we will not allow Hamas to use the goodwill of the international community to reorganize, rearm and resupply,” Levy says, according to which “Hamas entered the war with a stockpile of half a million liters of fuel. Not only that, it stole fuel from the United Nations. It stole fuel from hospitals”, while Israel “has no obligation to facilitate the supply of fuel that Hamas will use to continue firing rockets at us.”
“we will find every Hamas terrorist, no matter the time”
“Prime Minister Netanyahu was clear. Every Hamas terrorist is a dead man walking. We will find them, no matter how long it takes. And we will bring to justice the monsters who burned, beheaded, kidnapped, tortured, mutilated on October 7 and raped hundreds and hundreds of Israelis. We will bring them to justice and make them pay,” the spokesperson said.
“Important Meloni visit, so democratic country responds to massacre”
“Prime Minister Meloni made a very important solidarity visit here in Israel. She was among the many world leaders who came to Israel to express solidarity following the October 7 massacre and make it clear that Israel has the duty to defend itself and that this war it must end with the total destruction of Hamas. This is the only way a democratic state can respond to the kind of horrific massacre we witnessed on October 7,” concludes Levy.
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