The Israeli army searches Shifa Hospital in Gaza for a second day: Live updates on the war between Israel and Hamas

Since invading Gaza 20 days ago, Israel has presented Shifa Hospital as one of its main targets, saying it is located above a network of subterranean fortifications erected by Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that controlled the entire area until the invasion began. . Hamas and the hospital leadership denied these accusations.

The claim that Hamas operates from within the sprawling hospital complex has been central to Israel’s defense of the death toll resulting from its military campaign in Gaza, which has killed more than 11,000 people, according to Gaza health officials. Israeli officials say the heavy loss of life is due in part to Hamas’s decision to hide its military fortifications and command centers inside civilian infrastructure such as Al-Shifa Hospital.

Israel’s ability to prove its claim may be a key factor in determining whether its foreign allies continue to support its military response to the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7.

Israel received widespread international support after the Hamas-led raid killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, according to Israeli officials. But as the Israeli counteroffensive continued, destroying much of Gaza, there were signs that the Allies were beginning to take a more nuanced stance.

The UN Security Council on Wednesday called for an immediate cessation of fighting for days to allow more aid to reach civilians. The United States – a key ally that often vetoes UN statements critical of Israel – abstained from voting on the resolution, allowing it to pass.

By Thursday afternoon, the only evidence the IDF had publicly provided so far of the alleged dual use of Shifa was a video showing some of the weapons and equipment — about a dozen rifles, grenades, body armor and military uniforms — that it said soldiers had found. Inside the hospital’s MRI unit. The New York Times was unable to verify the source of the weapons.

On the day its forces invaded Gaza, October 27, the army published a map of the site indicating that Hamas was operating four underground compounds beneath the hospital’s internal medicine department, the chest and dialysis department, the MRI department, and a hospital rest area. Its western edge. The map also indicates that Hamas operates a command center in or near the hospital’s outpatient clinic.

The army has not yet provided public evidence of the existence of any of those five sites. She said in a statement that soldiers found an above-ground command center in an MRI unit, without providing further evidence. Hamas rejected this assertion, describing it as a “fabricated story that no one will believe.”

Israeli army spokesman, Major Nir Dinar, said that Israel needs more time to find and present evidence.

“It takes time because Hamas knew we were coming, and they tried to hide the evidence of the war crimes they committed,” Major Dinar said. “They ruined the scenery, they brought sand to cover some of the floors, and they built double walls.”