Hamas uses hospitals as shields, in violation of the Geneva Conventions
According to international law, hospitals may not be used for military activity. According to the 1949 Geneva Conventions,
“the responsible authorities shall ensure that the said medical
establishments and units are, as far as possible, situated in such a
manner that attacks against military objectives cannot imperil their
safety.” A 1977 additional protocol says that “under no circumstances shall medical units be used in an attempt to shield military objectives from attack.”
Firing rockets from near hospitals is Hamas doctrine
Storing weapons near civilian sites, including hospitals, is part of Hamas’s doctrine. A NATO report examining
Hamas activities between 2008 and 2014 found that they fire “rockets,
artillery, and mortars from or in proximity to heavily populated
civilian areas, often from or near facilities which should be
protected.” Journalists from numerous media outlets, including the Financial Times, have provided eyewitness testimony of rockets launched from near hospitals.
Hamas built a command center underneath Shifa hospital
For years, Hamas has been using a bunker
underneath Dar Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest hospital in Gaza, as a
base of military operations. During the 2009 conflict between Israel and
Hamas, Israeli intelligence officials suspected the
hospital was being used for cover. According to the Meir Amit
Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, Hamas “closed off some of
the departments, stationed armed guards and closely examined everyone
in the hospital. … Ismail Haniyeh, head of the de facto Hamas administration, set up his headquarters in the hospital’s burn ward.” Hamas has also insisted on conducting interviews in Shifa’s courtyard, using wounded patients as props for propaganda.
Hamas has hidden under Shifa since 2007
In 2007, a doctor in Shifa Hospital said,
“The medical staff are suffering from fear and terror, particularly of
the Hamas fighters, who are in every corner of the hospital.” Former
Israeli intelligence chief Avi Dichter said in 2009 that Hamas commanders even at times wear doctor’s robes. The same year, PBS said it “reached a doctor in Gaza who believes Hamas officials are hiding either in the basement or in a separate underground area underneath the hospital.” By 2014, the hospital had become a “de-facto” command center for Hamas.
Journalists have documented
the use of the hospital by Hamas over the years. One foreign journalist
said Hamas’s use of Shifa is an open secret, but reporters in Gaza are
refuse to report about it out of fear for their personal safety.
Hamas used hospitals in its 2014 war on Israel
In 2014, the conflict between Israel and Hamas spotlighted how Hamas
made use of hospitals as part of its strategy. “In Hamas’s world,
hospitals are command centers, ambulances are transport vehicles and
medics are human shields,” the Israel Defense Forces said. This was a flagrant violation of international law.
Hamas used al-Wafa Hospital for military purposes
Al-Wafa Hospital in the Shajaiyeh neighborhood of Gaza City was
turned into a command center, rocket-launching site and observation
post, according to the IDF in 2014. “Hamas repeatedly opened fire from
hospital windows and [launched] anti-tank missiles from the premises. Hamas deliberately and cynically turned the hospital into a legitimate military target.”
When the IDF carried out a
precision airstrike near the hospital, it first called to warn their
administrators. Video released during the 2014 conflict showed Hamas
launching rockets next to the hospital. The IDF claimed the hospital has been “a hotbed of terrorists activities, with gun and anti-tank missile fire originating from the site.”
Hamas uses hospitals for propaganda
On Oct. 18, 2023, a rocket fired by Palestinian Islamic Jihad struck a
parking lot near Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City. Hamas rushed to
blame Israel, claiming that more than 500 had been killed.
Investigations by Israel, US intelligence and major media concluded that
the claims by Hamas were false. Hamas used the incident to blame Israel.
The manipulation behind the al-Ahli Hospital incident is part of the wider media war by Hamas to use civilians in Gaza to score points. This includes inflating death tolls in Gaza and spreading misinformation.
Hamas commits abuses at hospitals
A 2007 Human Rights Watch report recounted how Hamas executed a rival Fatah member and his two sons at a hospital in Beit Hanun. In 2008, The New York Times reported in gory detail how Hamas murdered six suspected collaborators in a 24-hour span. In 2014, Palestinian reporter Radjaa Abu Dagga said he
was taken for questioning by Hamas to Al-Shifa hospital. His passport
was taken and he was prohibited from leaving the Gaza Strip.
Hamas interrogates and tortures at hospitals
Fatah also accused Hamas of using the hospital’s x-ray department as a prison and interrogation room. Amnesty International wrote in 2015 that civilians
were “interrogated and tortured or otherwise ill-treated in a disused
outpatient’s clinic within the grounds of Gaza City’s main al-Shifa
Hospital. At least three people arrested during the conflict accused of
‘collaboration’ died in custody.”
Hamas also uses ambulances for terrorism
Hamas has also used ambulances during the course of the war as part of its operations. The
use of ambulances not only denies civilians who are injured the use of
the ambulance but also puts at risk medical workers if terrorists use
the ambulance in the course of their activities.
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