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<h1>Hamas rejects Israeli claim over installations under al-Shifa hospital</h1><p class="gmail-article__subhead gmail-css-1wt8oh6"><em>Hamas denies Israeli claim that it uses hospital for military purposes, warns of potential attack targeting al-Shifa.</em></p><div class="gmail-responsive-image"><img src="https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/AP23300655684593-1698431452.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80" alt="Explosions caused by Israeli airstrikes in the northern Gaza Strip" width="392" height="261" style="margin-right: 25px;"></div>Explosions caused by Israeli air raids light up the sky in the northern Gaza Strip on Friday, October 27 [Abed Khaled/AP Photo]<div class="gmail-article-info-block gmail-css-ti04u9"><div class="gmail-article-b-l" style="border-color:rgb(250,144,0)"><div class="gmail-article-dates" style="border-color:rgb(250,144,0)"><div class="gmail-date-simple gmail-css-1yjq2zp"><span class="gmail-screen-reader-text">Published On 27 Oct 2023</span><span aria-hidden="true"> -<font size="1"> </font></span><font size="1"><a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/27/hamas-rejects-israeli-claim-over-installations-under-al-shifa-hospital">https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/27/hamas-rejects-israeli-claim-over-installations-under-al-shifa-hospital</a></font></div></div></div><div class="gmail-social-share-buttons"><a class="gmail-social-share-button" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-label="Share on Facebook" href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Faje.io%2Fovgnlp"></a></div></div><a class="gmail-social-share-button" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-label="Share on Twitter" href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Hamas%20rejects%20Israeli%20claim%20over%20installations%20under%20al-Shifa%20hospital&source=sharethiscom&related=sharethis&via=AJEnglish&url=https%3A%2F%2Faje.io%2Fovgnlp"></a><div class="gmail-article-info-block gmail-css-ti04u9"><div class="gmail-social-share-buttons"></div></div><div class="gmail-wysiwyg gmail-wysiwyg--all-content gmail-css-ibbk12"><p>Palestinian armed group Hamas has rejected Israeli claims that it is using hospitals for military purposes, as Israel <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/27/israel-intensifies-gaza-bombardment-as-internet-and-phone-services-go-down">escalates its bombardment</a> of the besieged Gaza Strip.</p>
<p>Hamas political official Ezzat El-Reshiq on Friday denied allegations that the group was using the <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2023/10/27/palestinian-family-taking-shelter-at-al-shifa-hospital">al-Shifa hospital</a> as a shield for its underground military infrastructure, and said the claims have “no basis in truth”.</p><p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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”.</p>
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<p>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.</p><div id="gmail-article-newsletter-slot"></div>
<p>Hagari said Israeli ground forces were “expanding operations” in Gaza.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>“We have solid monitoring mechanisms … UNRWA does not and will not divert any humanitarian aid into the wrong hands,” he said.</p>
<p>Hospitals in Gaza have proven an especially tense flashpoint amid Israel’s continuing fighting with Hamas, which launched <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/10/11/analysis-why-did-hamas-attack-now-and-what-is-next">an assault</a> on southern Israel on October 7 that killed more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians.</p>
<p>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 <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/20/defying-bone-crushing-echaustion-gazas-doctors-work-despite-israels-war">to their limits</a>.</p>
<p>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.</p>
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<p>Israel and Palestinian authorities have also traded accusations <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/18/what-do-we-know-about-the-strike-on-the-hospital-in-gaza">over a blast</a>
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.</p>
</div><div class="gmail-article-source">Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies</div>
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