General Discussion

The Washington Post analyzed the publicly released material by Israel, along with satellite imagery and other publicly available material, and concluded that the rooms that were connected to a tunnel network showed "no immediate evidence of military use by Hamas", and that each of the buildings that the IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari had identified as being "directly involved" in Hamas's military activity did not appear to be connected to any tunnel network, and that there had been no evidence released that showed that a tunnel network could be accessed by any part of the hospital.[77] Following the second offensive against al-Shifa which took place the following March, an Israeli colonel told the Washington Post that Hamas operatives had been working in offices and wards above ground in recent months, and that the use of tunnels had been less important.[78]

On January 2, 2024, U.S. intelligence confirmed its belief that Hamas used the Al-Shifa Hospital as a command center and to hold Israeli hostages, mentioning in an assessment that Hamas “used the al-Shifa hospital complex and sites beneath it to house command infrastructure, exercise certain command and control activities, store some weapons, and hold at least a few hostages.”[79][80][55] However, news reports the next day said that both Israeli and US statements are not considered as conclusive proof of Hamas use of al-Shifa.[81][82]

On February 12, 2024, classified Israeli intelligence documents, obtained and reviewed by The New York Times suggested Hamas did store weapons and took cover at the hospital, using tunnels 213 meters long, twice the size previously known. The tunnels included bunkers, living areas, and computer and communications rooms, and established documents showed that Hamas masked its activities using the hospital. The Times also verified that the tunnel was under the surgery center. The article confirms that "The Israeli military, however, has struggled to prove that Hamas maintained a command-and-control center under the facility. Critics of the Israeli military say the evidence does not support its early claims, noting that it had distributed material before the raid showing five underground complexes and also had said the tunnel network could be reached from wards inside a hospital building."[83]

The Washington Post analyzed the publicly released material by Israel, along with satellite imagery and other publicly available material, and concluded that the rooms that were connected to a tunnel network did not show any immediate evidence of being used by Hamas, and that each of the buildings that the IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari had identified as being "directly involved" in Hamas's military activity did not appear to be connected to any tunnel network, and that there had been no evidence released that showed that a tunnel network could be accessed from within the hospital's wards.[41] The France 24 Observer analysis team was "unable to verify Israeli claims that the passage leads to a larger network of tunnels."[148]

On 21 December, The Washington Post published an analysis concluding that the hospital buildings in question were not actually connected to the tunnels.[41] On 2 January 2024 newly declassified documents by the United States showed that its spy agencies continued to express confidence that the hospital had been used as a command and control centre, while providing no visual evidence.[42] The next day Israel announced that it had dismantled a tunnel beneath the hospital.[43] News reports the following day said both the Israeli and US statements are not considered as conclusive proof of Hamas use of al-Shifa.[44][45]

The Israeli military claimed that an extensive tunnel network at Al-Shifa hospital had been used as Hamas’ headquarters and that ‘entrances [to the tunnel] are located in various departments of the hospital, including the admissions department, putting all patients at risk’. The Israeli military spokesperson also claimed that ‘Hamas also has an entrance to those terror tunnels from inside the hospital wards — meaning from different places of the hospital you can go into an underground tunnel’. Reporting indicates that the tunnel does not provide access to the hospital wards and as we have shown above, and that its actual size and reach is inconsistent with the illustrations the Israeli military published alongside these claims. Our findings also indicate that the computer-generated graphics alleging an extensive tunnel network beneath Al-Shifa are nothing like the Israeli military’s own claims about the tunnel footprint on 22 November. We also found that their 27 October claim (which accompanied the computer-generated graphics) that a ‘command and control centre’ existed beneath Al-Shifa contradicts the claims they subsequently made and evidence they presented on 20 November.

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The Israeli military claimed that an extensive tunnel network at Al-Shifa hospital had been used as Hamas’ headquarters and that ‘entrances [to the tunnel] are located in various departments of the hospital, including the admissions department, putting all patients at risk’. The Israeli military spokesperson also claimed that ‘Hamas also has an entrance to those terror tunnels from inside the hospital wards — meaning from different places of the hospital you can go into an underground tunnel’. Reporting indicates that the tunnel does not provide access to the hospital wards and as we have shown above, and that its actual size and reach is inconsistent with the illustrations the Israeli military published alongside these claims. Our findings also indicate that the computer-generated graphics alleging an extensive tunnel network beneath Al-Shifa are nothing like the Israeli military’s own claims about the tunnel footprint on 22 November. We also found that their 27 October claim (which accompanied the computer-generated graphics) that a ‘command and control centre’ existed beneath Al-Shifa contradicts the claims they subsequently made and evidence they presented on 20 November.