(NewsInsights.org) – Israel has claimed that Hamas has used bunkers under sensitive civilian locations, like hospitals and schools, for some time. As Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have continued pushing their way into Gaza to root out Hamas fighters, they discovered a tunnel adjacent to the al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on Thursday, November 16.
An IDF spokesperson claimed forces found the tunnel and a “booby-trapped vehicle” stocked with weapons, ammunition, and explosives, at the hospital, according to a briefing. The IDF claims Hamas prepared the vehicle for the October 7 attack on Israel but failed to use it. Despite a critical lack of food, water, medical supplies, and power due to a six-week siege, al-Shifa sheltered more than 7,000 people, including critically injured patients and newborn babies, before Israeli forces demanded the evacuation of those stable enough to move. The hospital relocated 31 newborns to hospitals in the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday with IDF assistance.
IDF forces detailed their finding of the 180-foot-long tunnel residing about 32 feet underground beneath the hospital in a Sunday briefing. Videos released by Israel show a spiral metal staircase leading to a passage covered by arched ceilings that appears to end at a blast-proof door equipped with a firing hole. Combat engineering forces hesitated to open the door while the hospital continued to house patients fearing a booby trap. The IDF suspected a command center lay beyond the door.
Additionally, troops reported finding the body of Israeli conscript Noa Marciano at al-Shifa. Hamas claimed her death resulted from an Israeli airstrike, but a forensic examination found the head wound Hamas filmed wasn’t life-threatening. The IDF claims someone murdered Marciano in the hospital based on intelligence they received. Troops also claimed they found the body of Yehudit Weiss, another hostage taken by Hamas, near the hospital.
Al-Shifa isn’t the only hospital that the IDF is investigating. Troops are also exploring a tunnel found near the Rantisi Hospital and found a weapons and ammunition cache in the Al-Quds Hospital.
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