Alleged military use of al-Shifa hospital

[3][4] International law prohibits the targeting of hospitals unless there is evidence it is used for a military purpose that is "harmful to the enemy", as well as the use of human shields for combatants; both constitute war crimes.

[12][13] A later report in February 2024 by the New York Times, confirmed the existence of underground tunnels and cited classified Israeli intelligence material suggesting that Hamas did use the hospital as cover.

IVF funding was widely popular and won massive public support, despite only being made available to a very limited number of couples on a lottery system.

[27] International humanitarian law (IHL) does contain the concept of terrorist as an identity for a person or organisation; state and non-state actors are held to the same standard.

[28] International law prohibits the targeting of hospitals unless there is evidence it is used for a military purpose that is "harmful to the enemy", as well as the use of human shields for combatants; both constitute war crimes.

"[39] During the 2008–2009 Gaza War, The New York Times reported that "armed Hamas militants in civilian clothes roved the halls" killing alleged collaborators.

[40] Several reports by Israeli Shin Bet officials alleged that Hamas used Al-Shifa hospital as a bunker and refuge, knowing it would be spared by air strikes.

[42] PBS' Wide Angle programme, which interviewed a doctor from Gaza who preferred to remain anonymous, said that he believed that Hamas officials were present under the hospital.

[44][45][46] Amnesty International documented how the Hamas forces used the abandoned areas of the hospital to abduct, torture, and kill Palestinians accused of collaborating with Israel.

"[63] Israeli forces continued to search the facility for a second day, unearthing what they described as a tunnel entrance on the perimeter of the hospital complex, although they have not entered due to fear of booby traps.

[65][66] Jeremy Scahill of The Intercept stated to Al Jazeera that the "Israelis have a multidecade track record of lying, of promoting false information, releasing doctored videos".

"[68] On 16 November, the IDF reported that the body of Yehudit Weiss, a 65-year-old woman who was captured from Be'eri kibbutz, had been located in a structure nearby to the hospital.

[71] Jeremy Bowen, BBC News' international editor, noted that there is no independent scrutiny inside the hospital, since journalists are working under the aegis of the Israeli military.

[75][dubious – discuss][better source needed] Mounir El Barsh, the Gaza health ministry director, stated the Israeli tunnel statement was a "pure lie" and that the IDF had already been on the al-Shifa complex for eight days.

[81] Following the second offensive against al-Shifa which took place the following March, an Israeli colonel told the Washington Post that Hamas operatives had been working in offices and wards above ground in recent months, and that the use of tunnels had been less important.

[85][86] On February 12, 2024, classified Israeli intelligence documents, obtained and reviewed by The New York Times suggested Hamas did store weapons and took cover at the hospital, using tunnels 213 meters long, twice the size previously known.

The tunnels included bunkers, living areas, and computer and communications rooms, and established documents showed that Hamas masked its activities using the hospital.

Critics of the Israeli military say the evidence does not support its early claims, noting that it had distributed material before the raid showing five underground complexes and also had said the tunnel network could be reached from wards inside a hospital building.

"[87] On March 18, 2024, the IDF conducted an overnight raid into al-Shifa Hospital, saying that senior Hamas leaders had regrouped inside the facility and were using it to launch attacks.

The Nation described the campaign as propaganda, and stated that the video was widely mocked, with many Arabs questioning its authenticity, and the ministry deleting the tweet in a day.

[97] The Daily Beast, remarking on the video, said "Everything about it smacked of high school theater—from the botched accent that sounded like it was straight out of an Israeli soap opera to the perfectly scripted IDF talking points rolling off her tongue.