The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conducted a raid on Shifa Hospital in Gaza, uncovering military equipment, including weapons, intelligence materials, and technology. The operation involved room-by-room searches following days of fighting with Hamas gunmen on the hospital's outskirts.
The Israel Defense Forces reported on Wednesday that their troops had discovered military equipment, including weapons, during a raid on Shifa Hospital in Gaza. The operation involved room-by-room searches after days of fighting with Hamas gunmen on the facility's outskirts. The IDF had encircled Shifa, alleging that Hamas maintained a major operations command centre beneath the hospital, using patients, staff, and civilians as cover. The US had confirmed that Shifa and other Gaza hospitals, along with tunnels beneath them, were used by Hamas and Islamic Jihad to support military operations and hold hostages.
Watch as LTC (res.) Jonathan Conricus exposes the countless Hamas weapons IDF troops have uncovered in the Shifa Hospital's MRI building: pic.twitter.com/5qssP8z1XQ
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF)Military spokesman Daniel Hagari informed reporters that inside Shifa, they found weapons, intelligence materials, military technology, and equipment. An operational headquarters with communication equipment belonging to Hamas, along with Hamas uniforms, was also discovered.
Images of guns, grenades, and other equipment allegedly found at Shifa were released by the army. Hagari asserted that these findings unequivocally demonstrate the hospital's use for terror, violating international law.
A video released by the military displayed three hidden duffel bags around an MRI lab, each containing an assault rifle, grenades, and Hamas uniforms. Additionally, a closet containing assault rifles without ammunition clips was revealed, along with the discovery of a laptop taken for further study.
IDF releases evidence of Hamas weapons found inside Shifa Hospital's MRI center, during the raid by the elite Shaldag unit and other forces of the 36th Division inside the medical center today. pic.twitter.com/HrtzHmpELR
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian)Lt Col Jonathan Conricus, a military spokesman, stated in the video that these weapons have no business being inside a hospital, expressing the belief that the material found is just the tip of the iceberg. While the search is ongoing, there is no immediate evidence of tunnels or an extensive military centre at the hospital.
In response, the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza denied the claims, asserting that Israeli forces did not find any equipment or weapons in the hospital.