Israel Accuses Hamas of Concealing Armory beneath Gaza's Children's Hospital, Local Health Officials Deny Allegations
Israeli military claims Hamas command and control center was located beneath a children's hospital in Gaza Local health officials deny the allegations Vast destruction observed during a press tour
CNN reported from Gaza under IDF escort at all times, maintaining editorial control over the final report. The Israeli military's increased focus on Gaza's hospitals is evident, as a spokesperson invited news media to tour a children's medical center on Monday. The spokesperson claimed that parts of the basement were allegedly used by Hamas as a "command and control center" and potentially for holding hostages.
The CNN team was embedded with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Monday when they were shown weapons and explosives stored in a room below Al-Rantisi children's hospital. This area was referred to as an "armory" by IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari. Additionally, Hagari highlighted a chair with a nearby rope and an article of women's clothing, mentioning that DNA testing would be conducted, as well as a makeshift toilet.
Hamas, along with Gazan health officials and hospital directors, have consistently refuted the claim of their fighters hiding under hospitals.
During a phone conversation with CNN on Tuesday, Mohammed Zarqout, in charge of all the hospitals in Gaza, clarified that the basement of Al Rantisi was used as a shelter, not for storing Hamas weaponry or holding hostages. Additionally, the basement housed the pharmacy and some administrative offices of the hospital until it became "impossible" to use due to rainwater.
Zarqout also told CNN that medical staff had been forced to leave the hospital by Israeli soldiers, and had been unable to take all the patients with them when they left.
CNN embedded with Israel's military inside Gaza but did not submit the material for this report to the IDF and retained editorial control over the final report.
CNN
The IDF announced on Sunday that it is allowing foot and ambulance passage to evacuate patients from three hospitals: Al-Shifa, Al-Rantisi, and Nasser hospitals. However, there are growing concerns that military action is now being directed towards these hospitals. Disturbing images and testimonies from civilians trapped inside and doctors' warnings about the inability to move their critically ill patients have further highlighted this issue.
Israeli forces had been carrying out operations in Al-Rantisi shortly before CNN's visit, as mentioned by Hagari. He further stated that a forensic team would soon examine the material left in the basement rooms to verify any possible link to the over 200 hostages taken by Hamas during their attack in Israel on October 7.
The IDF is currently investigating whether there is any association between a visible entrance to a tunnel nearby and the rooms beneath the hospital.
CNN was shown a shaft that Hagari claimed was situated near a Hamas commander's residence and a school, about 200 meters away from Al-Rantisi. Hagari also stated that wires connected to the shaft supplied power to the tunnel, deriving energy from solar panels installed on the roof of the Hamas commander's house.
Hagari explained that a robot was placed inside the tunnel and it discovered a large door leading towards the hospital.
Zarquot countered by stating, "The tunnel that they are presenting as a Hamas tunnel is actually a location where electrical wires are assembled. We have elevated the wires to prevent any potential electrical shocks during floods."
IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari inside Gaza
CNN
Vast destruction
As CNN's team accompanied the Israeli military to Al-Rantisi hospital in Gaza, they witnessed immense devastation. Numerous residences, towering apartment buildings, hotels, and villas lay in ruins. The landscape was riddled with bullet and shell holes, while ongoing firefights intensified the chaotic scene.
Intense battles have taken place near hospitals in the enclave in the past few days, creating conditions that medical staff still working there compare to a siege.
Although hospitals are supposed to be protected during times of war according to international humanitarian law, this protection can be jeopardized if there is suspicion of military operations taking place within the facilities. The World Health Organization has documented at least 137 instances of attacks on healthcare facilities in Gaza, resulting in 521 fatalities and 686 injuries.
Other sites that are meant to be protected, such as schools, civilian shelters, and United Nations facilities, have already suffered damage or been completely destroyed as a result of Israeli airstrikes that have been ongoing for over a month. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees reported on Monday that the number of UN staff members killed in Gaza since the start of the conflict has reached over 100, marking the highest casualty count in the history of the United Nations.
Men walk along the border of Gaza in southern Israel on November 13, 2023. Swathes of the heavily populated enclave has come under relentless Israeli bombardment
Fadel Senna/AFP/Getty Images
Israeli forces have faced criticism from global health organizations and aid groups for ordering hospitals to evacuate or face the risk of danger amidst their efforts to remove Hamas. On Sunday, the regional directors of UNFPA, UNICEF, and the World Health Organization released a joint statement calling for urgent international action to halt the ongoing attacks on Gaza's hospitals.
The statement expressed horror at the recent attacks on Al-Shifa Hospital, Al-Rantissi Naser Paediatric Hospital, Al-Quds Hospital, and other healthcare facilities in Gaza City and northern Gaza, resulting in numerous casualties, including children. The intense hostilities surrounding these hospitals have created barriers to safe access for healthcare staff, the injured, and other patients.
As of Monday, doctors at Al-Shifa - Gaza's largest hospital - persist in their refusal to evacuate, citing concerns over the potential death toll of hundreds of patients who may be left behind. Israel claims that a hidden Hamas center is located in the hospital's basement, a notion strongly denied by both the hospital staff and Hamas. Dr. Munir Al-Bursh, Director-General of Gaza's Health Ministry under Hamas control, reports that thousands of civilians seek shelter at the hospital, while approximately 700 vulnerable patients are currently being treated there.
"The problem is not the doctors, its the patients," Al-Burish told CNN on Monday. "If they are left behind, they will die, and if they are transferred, they will die on the way, this is the problem."
