A recently circulated Arabic-language video appears to show how Israeli forces captured Dr. Marwan al-Hams, a Gaza physician who served the Hamas terrorist organization and was involved in handling the body of Lt. Hadar Goldin, an Israeli soldier killed and taken during the 2014 Gaza war.
Last week it was reported that al-Hams was detained in July during a special forces operation in the al-Mawasi area of southern Gaza. The new video, posted online by an unidentified source, claims he was lured to the location after being told he would be filmed for a documentary about him.
Dr. Marwan al-Hams
The footage includes clips of al-Hams speaking to a woman who allegedly recruited him for the supposed film project. Captions say the woman “succeeded in drawing him into an ambush and deceiving him.”
The video also displays previously unseen images of al-Hams treating wounded Palestinians as part of his medical work in Rafah, along with footage that appears to show him participating in Hamas military activity, including carrying a rocket and entering a tunnel.
At one point al-Hams is heard telling an unidentified woman, “Don’t worry about me. I don’t want to say I am smart, but I am smart.” He then tells the woman he hopes to host her in Gaza and take her to the beach.
Near the end of the video, the narrator states, “Doctor Marwan is seen as a hero by some people, but this is not the truth. Marwan is part of a brutal terrorist organization.” The footage concludes with Israeli soldiers lowering al-Hams into a tunnel, apparently the same underground site where Goldin’s body was held.
Based on the material and phrasing, the video appears to have been released by Israeli intelligence elements.
Al-Hams, who worked at Rafah’s Youssef al-Najjar Hospital, served in Hamas’ military wing as a brigade doctor and also managed field hospitals for the Hamas-run health ministry during the war. He determined Goldin’s death after the Aug. 1, 2014 firefight in Rafah, hours after a ceasefire had taken effect.
Following his arrest, Israeli officials say al-Hams refused to cooperate with interrogators or disclose the burial location of Goldin, whose remains were kept in a large Hamas tunnel network in Rafah until Israel recovered them earlier this month after 11 years. The arrest of his daughter, Tasnim, also did not lead him to provide information, according to Israeli authorities.