WAPO: The Case Of Al-Shifa: Investigating The Assault On Gaza’s Largest Hospital

Weeks before Israel sent troops into al-Shifa Hospital, its spokesman began building a public case.

The claims were remarkably specific — that five hospital buildings were directly involved in Hamas activities; that the buildings sat atop underground tunnels that were used by militants to direct rocket attacks and command fighters; and that the tunnels could be accessed from inside hospital wards. The assertions were backed by “concrete evidence,” Israel Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari said as he laid out the case in an Oct. 27 briefing.

...The evidence presented by the Israeli government falls short of showing that Hamas had been using the hospital as a command and control center, according to a Washington Post analysis of open-source visuals, satellite imagery and all of the publicly released IDF materials...

The Post’s analysis shows:

- The rooms connected to the tunnel network discovered by IDF troops showed no immediate evidence of military use by Hamas.

- None of the five hospital buildings identified by Hagari appeared to be connected to the tunnel network.

- There is no evidence that the tunnels could be accessed from inside hospital wards.

Hours before IDF troops entered the complex, the Biden administration declassified U.S. intelligence assessments that it said bolstered Israel’s claims. In the aftermath of the raid, Israeli and U.S. officials have stood firm behind their initial statements.

“We are absolutely confident in the intelligence ... that Hamas was using it as a command and control node,” a senior administration official told The Post last week, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive findings. “Hamas had been holding the hostages in the hospital compound until shortly before Israel went in.”

The U.S. government has not made any of the declassified material public and the official would not share the intelligence this assessment was based on.

...When asked if more evidence from al-Shifa would be forthcoming, the spokesperson said: “We cannot provide additional information.” On Nov. 24, Israel’s military announced in a statement that it had destroyed the tunnel on the hospital grounds; its forces withdrew soon after.

“Before, I was convinced that [al-Shifa] was where these operations were taking place,” a senior U.S. member of Congress told The Post, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. But now, he said, “I think there has to be a new level of demonstration. They should have more proof at this point.”

🔗Source: WAPO

Related: Related: 11/25 — IDF Knew Real Hamas HQ While Lying About Al-Shifa

"The crescendo of Israeli propaganda about al-Shifa being a “human shield” for Hamas came with a long report published by The New York Times on Nov. 14. It was based on interviews with eight present and former intelligence and defense officials, describing a vast military command complex under al-Shifa with multiple levels.

....But something quite unexpected had happened during this new round of press stories on al-Shifa that completely demolished the entire IDF story line: the IDF had gained control of the real Hamas command and control center...

...As the IDF leaked to The Jerusalem Post in a story published Nov. 14, the discovery was made “several days ago” of a tunnel with an elevator that reached thirty meters underground, compared with only five meters underground in other tunnels.  Furthermore it had been equipped with oxygen, air conditioning and more advanced communications than seen anywhere else."

11/19 — CNN Suggests Weaponry Found in Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital ‘Rearranged’ by Israeli Army

11/15 — IDF PUBLISHES VIDEO FOOTAGE OF AL SHIFA HOSPITAL AFTER RAID

— Israeli army releases the long awaited 'evidence' of Hamas HQ in Al-Shifa Hospital

11/14 — Oct. 7 is to Radical Zionists As Covid was to Davos Elite: Convenient to a Pre-Existing Depopulation Agenda

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