Israel Claims it Uncovered Hamas Military Command Center under Hospital
JERUSALEM, Israel – The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) says northern Gaza is no longer under the control of Hamas, and the announcement came as the military uncovered a Hamas command center underneath one of Gaza's largest hospitals.
Those hospitals have become of key focus in the war effort.
The I.D.F. revealed evidence that it believes indicates several Israeli hostages were being held underneath the al-Rantisi Children's Hospital in Gaza. Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari conducted a video tour of the premises.
"We are now in the basement," he said, "and in this basement we found a motorcycle. So they came back from the massacre on the 7th of October into Rantisi Hospital with hostages on a motorcycle.”
Hagari added to the description, "A woman’s clothes and a rope, a rope next to the legs. And look above it, it’s a baby bottle. It’s a baby bottle in a basement.”
They found an improvised toilet, diapers, and a living space with curtains, as well as a tunnel inside the hospital.
A large weapons stash was also uncovered, including explosive belts, grenades, weapons and RPG missiles.
"I want you to understand this kind of gear is a gear for a major fight," Hagari stated. "These are explosives. These are vests. Vests with explosives. It's a body vest for terrorists to explode on forces – among hospitals, among patients. People are shooting RPGs from hospitals. This is Hamas. Firing RPGs from hospitals. The world has to understand who is Israel fighting against."
The I.D.F. also showed how Israel is providing humanitarian aid for Palestinians – releasing audio of a conversation between an Israeli official and the director-general of the Shifa Hospital, arranging incubators for Palestinian babies, along with pictures of the incubators on their way to Gaza.
On the military front, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the I.D.F.'s campaign is succeeding.
"Hamas isn't capable of stopping the IDF. The IDF is advancing to every [necessary] location. The Hamas terrorist organization has lost control of Gaza, terrorists are fleeing south, civilians are looting Hamas bases, and they have no confidence in their government,” said Gallant.
The military is also capturing more of the Hamas infrastructure, including its parliament, where Israeli soldiers took a picture with Israeli flags inside the building.
In its battle to eliminate Hamas as a threat, Israel's Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said the diplomatic time clock is ticking. Cohen indicated the diplomatic window will remain open for two or three more weeks before international pressure increases significantly on Israel to slow down or stop the military incursion into Gaza.
In another development, The Washington Post reports new evidence suggests Hamas's goals on October 7th were much more ambitious than previously thought. The paper said intelligence information indicated that if the first wave succeeded, Hamas terrorists planned to go deeper into Israel and potentially strike larger cities.
As Israel keeps up its war against Hamas, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News' Sean Hannity that Israel's fight is America's fight..
“Thank the American people across the board, the American government, the Congress, the Senate, the President. Everybody has been very, very strong for Israel because they understand that our fight is your fight and our victory is your victory. And there is no substitute for victory.”
Netanyahu said that just as in the 1930's, attacks on the Jewish people don't stop with them.
“What the anti-Semites don't realize is the attacks start with the Jews, on the Jews, but they never end there," Netanyahu noted. "That's what happened in the Holocaust. People said, 'Oh, well, you know. the attacks of the Nazis on the Jews before World War II or even the beginning, that's OK.' No it wasn't. Because it afflicted all of humanity, all of civilization – and that's what you have here, too. The reason they're attacking Israel is this axis of terror understands that we're the forward position of the West and of civilization and we're just a stumbling block on the way to you.”
Beyond the fight with Hamas, a potentially ominous warning, as the battle between Hezbollah and Israel is now escalating day by day: one expert said it's no longer just a conflict, but a low scale war.
