IDF links Hamas command activity to Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza
Nasser Hospital was used as a command center by Hamas, the Israeli army said, following MSF’s decision to suspend its non-critical medical activities due to the armed presence.
The Nasser hospital in southern Gaza, which Doctors Without Borders left, is not only a place to store weapons for terrorism, but a real headquarters for Hamas, the Israeli army said on Sunday.
“For more than two years, the Israeli military and defense establishment have been warning about the cynical use by terrorist organizations in Gaza of hospitals and humanitarian shelters as human shields to conceal terrorist activities,” the army said.
Following the declarations of Doctors Without Borders, “concerning the reduction of its operations due to the presence of armed individuals, the IDF has information indicating that the Nasser hospital is used as a headquarters and military post for senior commanders and members of Hamas in southern Gaza.”
“This is an important decision, but it comes too late. It is further evidence that reinforces the need for the disarmament of the terrorist organization Hamas,” concluded the Israeli army.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) announced on Saturday the suspension of all non-critical medical operations at Nasser Hospital after reports of armed men using the facility to move weapons and interrogate patients.
“In recent months, at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, MSF patients and staff have seen armed men, some masked, in different areas of the large hospital complex,” the nonprofit organization said in a statement on its website.
He also specifies that these situations occurred in parts of the medical compound where MSF does not carry out activities.
“With a slight increase since the ceasefire, MSF teams have reported a series of unacceptable acts – including the presence of armed men, intimidation, arbitrary arrests of patients and a recent situation of suspected movement of weapons,” MSF said, adding that “these incidents pose serious threats to the safety of our teams and our patients.”
The organization said that “MSF has officially expressed its deep concern to the relevant authorities and highlighted the incompatibility of such violations with MSF’s medical mission. Hospitals must remain neutral and civilian spaces, free of military presence or activity, to ensure the safe and impartial provision of medical care.”
According to a Reuters According to this report, this directive was also applied to several other hospitals in southern Gaza where armed men were spotted.
The Post visits Shifa Hospital
In November 2023, The Jerusalem Post visited Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza closely and saw the numerous, heavy and regular weapons that Hamas hid there.
The stash included rocket-propelled grenades, large offensive drones capable of dropping grenades on soldiers, heavy rifles and other weapons.
Additionally, theJob entered the network of tunnels Hamas used beneath Shifa Hospital, which included large rooms for various functions and branched off in multiple directions to connect the area to other parts of northern and southern Gaza.
