The Israeli army (IDF) continues to try hard to convince the outside world that al-Shifa hospital was a base for Hamas. This time images are distributed of a tunnel shaft that would be used by the terrorist organization. The bodies of two Israeli hostages were found in a nearby building.
A spokesperson for the Israeli army yesterday gave a seven-minute tour of the hospital. The loot that was presented: A dozen Kalashnikovs and as many cartridge holders, military clothing, a pair of army boots, bulletproof vests, grenades and two cans of penetrating oil. The backpacks with weapons were hidden behind MRI scanners, among other things.
LOOK. The army said it found “ammunition, weapons and military equipment” in the hospital’s MRI department
However, to prove that Hamas is using the hospital as a command base, (much) more is needed. The Israeli army therefore continues to release images of new discoveries gradually. For example, a tunnel shaft was uncovered right next to the hospital and a parked vehicle was reportedly full of weapons. “It may take weeks before we can expose all of Hamas’s hidden infrastructure,” it said.
However, the clumsy way in which Israel handles this media offensive raises questions. For example, an official spokesperson released images on Monday purporting to prove that hostages were being held in the basement of another hospital. According to him, there was even a list of names of their guards. But anyone who knows Arabic only saw a calendar with the days of the week.
During yesterday’s tour, a laptop was also shown, containing the photo of an alleged Israeli hostage. Critics wonder how the military was able to get the laptop working so quickly without login details. The video was later taken offline by the IDF and put back online in an amended form. The difference? This time the laptop screen was made unrecognizable.
LOOK. Israel launches attack on Hamas in al-Shifa hospital
Israeli media also criticize possible manipulation of evidence for its own propaganda. For example, the IDF released an audio clip in which the director of Al Shifa hospital was said to be heard. A journalist from the Israeli news channel ‘Channel 13’ himself called director Muhammad Abu Salima and concluded that his voice does not match that in the audio fragment.
“Israel will have to come up with much more than a handful of ‘grab and go’ guns to justify closing hospitals in northern Gaza,” writes American human rights activist and former director of Human Rights Watch Kenneth Roth.
And what about the hostages? Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously claimed there was strong evidence some of them were being held in hospital. “If they were there, they moved to another location,” it now sounds.
The bodies of two hostages were found in a nearby building. These are Israeli soldiers Noa Marciano (19) and Yehudit Weiss (65). According to Hamas, the teenager was killed in an Israeli bombing, but there is of course no evidence of this.
Weiss was reportedly being treated for cancer when she ended up in the clutches of Hamas terrorists. Her husband was previously found murdered in the safe room of their home.
Free unlimited access to Showbytes? Which can!
Log in or create an account and never miss anything from the stars.