The New York Times published information revealing that American intelligence agencies believe Hamas and Islamic Jihad utilized the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City as a military command center and a site for holding captives.
Read more:
This conclusion was supported by a senior figure in the American intelligence community who stated the Biden administration believes Hamas made use of the hospital facilities and underground sites for managing command and control activities, storing weapons, and holding captives. The intelligence agencies also possess information indicating the terrorists vacated the premises several days before the extensive Israeli operation in November. Upon departure, they destroyed documents and electronic equipment in an attempt to conceal evidence, which made the world raise doubts about the veracity of Israeli claims.
The White House has expressed support for Israel's claims that the hospital served as a terrorist command center. On November 14, John Kirby, the National Security Council Coordinator, stated, "We have information that confirms Hamas uses the hospital in question as a command and control center." However, no specifics were shared.
Following the IDF's extensive operation at the hospital, numerous terror infrastructures, including tunnels and underground facilities, were exposed in the weeks that followed. Health and humanitarian organizations visited the site, and a team from the World Health Organization described Al-Shifa Hospital as a "death zone" following the IDF's departure. The main criticism centered on Israel's assertion that Al-Shifa was a central command center for Hamas, despite the absence of captives or active command centers.
Now, the assessment of American intelligence confirms Israel's claims that terror organizations commandeered the hospital and left before the Israeli operation. Although relief agencies did not provide visual evidence or videos as backup, an official American source stated their personnel are convinced of the accuracy of the assessments, as they are based on information independently collected by Israeli and U.S. intelligence sources.
American intelligence believes Israel's claims that some captives were held on site, were at least partially on the nose, even if they were later evacuated. From the war's onset, the IDF has placed focus on proving Al-Shifa was more than a mere hospital and resting place for civilians but in fact a terrorist command center with all that entails. That would explain the discovery of an subterranean tunnel beneath the hospital itself.
Coincidentally, this is also where the bodies of Yehudit Weiss and IDF soldier Noa Marciano were located, along with munitions and captives' personal belongings. While Weiss and Marciano were found just outside the hospital, a pathology report indicates Marciano was killed inside the Al-Shifa compound.
With enough evidence and findings corroborating Israel's hypothesis regarding Al-Shifa nefarious uses, hospital director Muhammad Abu-Salmiya was detained by the IDF, charging him as an unlawful combatant. This was considered a high-profile arrest, after Abu-Salmiya became somewhat of a symbol of Palestinian resilience, regularly updating the media about the number of dead and the humanitarian and sanitary conditions within Al-Shifa.