[News] Hamas rejects Israeli claim over installations under al-Shifa hospital

[Anti-Imperialist News]

 Hamas rejects Israeli claim over installations under al-Shifa hospital

*Hamas denies Israeli claim that it uses hospital for military purposes,
warns of potential attack targeting al-Shifa.*
[image: Explosions caused by Israeli airstrikes in the northern Gaza Strip]
Explosions caused by Israeli air raids light up the sky in the northern
Gaza Strip on Friday, October 27 [Abed Khaled/AP Photo]
Published On 27 Oct 2023 -
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/27/hamas-rejects-israeli-claim-over-installations-under-al-shifa-hospital
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Palestinian armed group Hamas has rejected Israeli claims that it is using
hospitals for military purposes, as Israel escalates its bombardment
<https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/27/israel-intensifies-gaza-bombardment-as-internet-and-phone-services-go-down>
of the besieged Gaza Strip.

Hamas political official Ezzat El-Reshiq on Friday denied allegations that
the group was using the al-Shifa hospital
<https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2023/10/27/palestinian-family-taking-shelter-at-al-shifa-hospital>
as a shield for its underground military infrastructure, and said the
claims have “no basis in truth”.

Israeli spokesman Daniel Hagari said earlier that Hamas had “turned
hospitals into command and control centres and hideouts for Hamas
terrorists and commanders”. Hagari also accused Hamas of storing fuel for
military operations inside hospitals in Gaza.

The al-Shifa Medical Complex is the largest medical health institution
within the Gaza Strip. Located in Gaza City, it includes three specialised
hospitals; the Surgery Hospital, the Internal Medicine Hospital, and the
Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital.

Thousands of Palestinian civilians have sought refuge at the hospital since
Israel launched a devastating assault on Gaza on October 7 after Hamas
attacked southern Israel.

El-Reshiq warned that the claim was an attempt to “pave the way for
targeting a hospital that contains thousands of wounded and shelters more
than 40,000 displaced people”.

The rejection came as Israel escalated its bombardment of Gaza, expanding
air raids and artillery fire in a fierce barrage that knocked out phone and
internet services across the Palestinian territory.

Hagari said Israeli ground forces were “expanding operations” in Gaza.

Earlier on Friday, chief of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA)
Philippe Lazzarini said that aid meant for Palestinians in Gaza was not
being diverted for use by Hamas.

“We have solid monitoring mechanisms … UNRWA does not and will not divert
any humanitarian aid into the wrong hands,” he said.

Hospitals in Gaza have proven an especially tense flashpoint amid Israel’s
continuing fighting with Hamas, which launched an assault
<https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/10/11/analysis-why-did-hamas-attack-now-and-what-is-next>
on southern Israel on October 7 that killed more than 1,400 people, mostly
civilians.

Israel has responded by placing Gaza under total siege, cutting off access
to electricity, water, food, and fuel, and conducting a military assault
that has pushed hospitals and medical workers to their limits
<https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/20/defying-bone-crushing-echaustion-gazas-doctors-work-despite-israels-war>
.

More than 100 health workers have been killed, and 15 hospitals out of 35
are out of service, alongside 57 basic healthcare services that have also
stopped functioning. Palestinian authorities have said that 7,326 people
have been killed and more than 18,967 injured since the fighting began.

Israel and Palestinian authorities have also traded accusations over a blast
<https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/18/what-do-we-know-about-the-strike-on-the-hospital-in-gaza>
at the al-Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza, with Palestinian authorities accusing
Israel of hitting the hospital with an air raid and Israel stating that the
deadly explosion was the result of an errant rocket fired by the group
Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). The United Nations has called for an
independent investigation.
Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies
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