Israeli troops uncovered a cache of weapons, including explosive suicide vests and rocket-propelled grenades, when they raided a children’s hospital in Gaza City.
In the basement of Rantisi Hospital, Israel Defense Forces officials said, troops also found evidence that hostages taken by Palestinian Hamas militants in a deadly one-day rampage last month may have been held there at one point.
On Monday, Admiral Daniel Hagari, an IDF spokesman, said Israeli forces also found a Hamas command and control center in the basement of the hospital, as well as a tunnel leading to the nearby home of a senior Hamas official.
The Israeli retaliatory ground campaign in recent days has focused around major hospital complexes in the Palestinian enclave, setting off a global debate over the conduct of both sides in the brutal urban battle.
“We found evidence that Hamas terrorists came back from the massacre on October 7 to this hospital, among others, after butchering Israelis,” Adm. Hagari said. “Hamas hides in hospitals. Today, we will expose this to the world.”
He said the IDF has been working to enable the safe evacuation of patients from Rantisi Hospital and other medical centers over the past week. On Monday, the IDF learned the last patient had been evacuated to a safer hospital, Adm. Hagari said.
“Our war is against Hamas — not against the people of Gaza, especially not the sick, wounded, or the women or the children,” he said. “Our war is against Hamas who uses them as human shields.”
Adm. Hagari said the Hamas fighters might have joined the civilians who fled the hospital when it was evacuated.
The IDF troops found a motorcycle inside the basement that was apparently driven there by Hamas militants on October 7, presumably with a hostage. They found possible evidence that a hostage had been in the basement, including portable toilets and sections of rope near one of the chairs.
“This is not the last hospital like this in Gaza and the world should know,” Adm. Hagari said. “This is a war crime. This is a war against humanity.”
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.
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