IDF Says Hamas HQ Is Under Gaza's Largest Hospital

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) says it has evidence that Hamas is using Gaza’s largest hospital, the Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, as a command center, and using fuel from hospitals to carry out operations.

Israel did not release the evidence and Storyful has been unable to independently verify the claims.

The allegations were detailed by IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari during a press conference on Friday, October 27.

Hagari presented illustrations of the hospital complex, with buildings he said Hamas was using highlighted in red, and illustrations of a large underground complex he said was beneath the hospital.

Hagari also said the IDF had “concrete evidence that hundreds of terrorists flooded into the hospital to hide there after the massacre of October 7.”

Two audio recordings were played during the press conference – one described as a call between an IDF official and an energy official in Gaza discussing Hamas controlling fuel supplies, and another described as a call between two Gazans in which they say al-Qassam Brigades, the militant wing of Hamas, were headquartered under the Shifa hospital. However, Storyful could not authenticate the recordings.

Audio released by the IDF nine days earlier, after an explosion at the Ahli Hospital in Gaza on October 17, purported to capture two Hamas operatives discussing the blast, but analyses carried by Earshot, an audio investigative group, and Channel 4 concluded that the audio had been faked. Credit: Israel Defense Forces via Storyful

Video transcript

DANIEL HAGARI: Good evening. Today, I will be revealing intelligence proving that Hamas uses hospitals as terror infrastructures. I repeat that Hamas uses hospitals as terror infrastructures.

Hamas has turned hospitals into command and control centers and hideouts for Hamas terrorists and commanders. Additionally, I can confirm that, according to the intelligence we have in our hands, there is fuel in hospitals in Gaza. I repeat-- there is fuel in hospitals in Gaza. And Hamas is using it for its terror infrastructures.

The information I will share here today has also been shared with the members of the intelligence community. We have given them all the materials and more than you will see here-- and they all have accepted it-- together with further classified materials that show more concrete evidence, both relating to hospitals being used as terror infrastructures and the status of fuel.

I want to start with Shifa Hospital, located in Gaza City, the biggest hospital in Gaza.

This is the Shifa Hospital.

You can see where it locates in Gaza City.

The largest hospital in Gaza.

It has over 1,500 beds, 4,000 staff, and now it has also more people around the surroundings of the hospital.

The red marks that you have seen before and you will see later are red marks of building that are involved with Hamas, and we know it and we have the proofs that they are with involvement of Hamas.

Hamas is cynically using hospitals and-- as a shield for its underground terror complex. I want to explain. There is an underground metro, tunnels in Gaza City. Not just in Gaza City. Usually, it's based next to unique sites or sensitive sites. Not just the hospital, but other sites, as mosques, et cetera, et cetera, UNRRA places, hospital, schools, et cetera, et cetera. This is a philosophy of Hamas. And Shifa is one of them.

Explaining map.

The red buildings, as I mentioned, are buildings that Hamas is using, meaning he does his command and control in different departments of the hospital, like the [INAUDIBLE] room and others. He uses these places in order to do command and control for terror activities, launching rockets, et cetera, et cetera.

It is here in Shifa Hospital where Hamas operates some of its command and control cells. This is where they direct rocket attacks, command Hamas forces. Hamas terrorists operate inside and under Shifa Hospital and other hospitals in Gaza with network of terror tunnels. Hamas also has an entrance to those terror tunnels from inside the hospital wards. Meaning from different places of the hospital, you can go into an underground tunnel that will provide you shelter. We'll show it now in a map.

This is an illustration of Shifa Hospital and the underground facilities. I want to repeat-- this is only an illustration. We will not share here the true material. We will not share here the true material that we have in our hands. This is only an illustration.

Right now, terrorists move freely in Shifa Hospital and other hospitals in Gaza. We have concrete evidence that hundreds of terrorists flooded into the hospital to hide there after the massacre of October 7th.

Hamas uses Shifa Hospital as a shield for Hamas terror infrastructure. Hamas wages war from hospitals. By operating from these hospitals, Hamas not only endangers the lives of Israelis civilians, but also exploit innocent Gazan civilians as human shield.

Shifa is not the only hospital. It is one of many. Hamas use of hospitals is a systematic. Hamas terrorists operate inside hospitals precisely because they know the IDF distinguishes between terrorists and civilians. Israel targets terrorists. Hamas target Israeli civilians and Gazan civilians, as we have shown in the al-Mahdi incident, in the hospital of al-Mahdi. Hamas is stealing from Gazan civilians to fuel its attack.

We already exposed that Hamas stole fuel from UNRRA. And UNRRA confirmed it. And as I said, there is fuel. There is fuel in hospitals in Gaza, and Hamas is using it for its terror infrastructure. Here's a proof that Hamas has fuel in Gaza and uses it for its terror infrastructure. This is a recording. Please listen.

- [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]

DANIEL HAGARI: You saw the last sentence. I think the last sentence, this is how Hamas sees the Gazan. He uses the destruction, the deaths in Gaza that was-- that occurring because they're using them as human shield in order to show the world and get this anti propaganda against Israel.

Here is another proof that Hamas is running its terror infrastructure from inside the-- and under hospitals in Gaza. Please listen.

- [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]

DANIEL HAGARI: We have also other recordings and video we will share with you later. And we will share more materials, classified materials, with members of the intelligence community.

When medical facilities are used for terror purposes, they are liable to lose their protection from attack, in accordance with international law. The IDF will continue making efforts to minimize harm to civilian population and will continue to act in accordance with international law.

For over two weeks, the IDF has called and continue calling the civilians of northern Gaza and Gaza City to temporarily move to your own safety. Move south to Wadi Gaza. We are continue to assist the efforts, led by Egypt and the United States, to provide a humanitarian effort in this area, which will have food, water, and medicine to the people of Gaza. We will increase this humanitarian effort.

Israel has put clear targets for the operation in Gaza. Our aim is to achieve both of the targets, to defeat Hamas and to bring our babies, our women, our elderly, our men back home. And we will do that.