News Brief
Gaza's Al Shifa Hospital Used As Command Centre By Hamas And Palestinian Islamic Jihad: US
Gaza Strip's largest hospital — Al-Shifa. (Representative Image )
US spy agencies have assessed that the Islamist terror group Hamas and another Palestinian faction used Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza as a command center and hostage holding area.
However, the groups had largely vacated the facility days prior to the arrival of Israeli troops.
According to reports, the complex served as a command center for both Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in their fight against Israel.
US intelligence agencies have reportedly not disclosed the evidence on which they based their assessment. However, the information has been independently confirmed the US.
Israel has also said that Al Shifa, a hospital it had previously occupied during the Gaza war, was utilized by Hamas. Israeli forces made their entry into the hospital in November.
The attack on the hospital had sparked worldwide concern about the wellbeing of civilians and patients within its premises.
Last month, the World Health Organization likened the emergency department of the main health facility in the enclave to a scene of a "bloodbath."
The US official stated that the American administration was of the opinion that Hamas had utilized the hospital complex, including its underground facilities, for command and control operations, weapons storage, and hostage holding.
US intelligence agencies obtained information that Hamas fighters had largely evacuated the complex days before Israel's operation and destroyed documents and electronics as they left, according to the American official cited in a Reuters report.
The US intelligence assessment was reported first by the New York Times and a classified version of the assessment was sent to lawmakers in the US Congress.
In the middle of November, Israeli tanks moved towards Al Shifa hospital in Gaza City, even though there were still patients present. Israel claimed that the hospital was built over tunnels that served as the headquarters for Hamas fighters who were allegedly using patients as human shields. However, this was denied by Hamas.
The New York Times reported that the Israeli evaluation was at least partially accurate in suggesting that some hostages were kept in or beneath the complex. However, it seemed that these hostages were relocated when Hamas evacuated.
John Kirby, the national security spokesman for the White House, stated in November that Hamas terrorists were using the hospital as a protective shield against military operations. This action, he said, was endangering the lives of patients and medical personnel within the facility.
"We have our own intelligence that convinces us that Hamas was using Al Shifa as a command and control node, and most likely as well as a storage facility," Kirby said in November.
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