Aerial footage of the Nasser Hospital
IDF forces are operating in the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis against the Hamas terror organization, IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said during a briefing on Thursday evening.
Hagari revealed a document from the interrogation of a Hamas terrorist, who said that: "Dozens of Hamas operatives were in the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis during the war. At least 10 hostages were held there."
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"We do not enter hospitals without reason," Hagari said. " Rather, as we have shown repeatedly since the beginning of the war, the use of hospitals as terrorist bases is one of the fundamental aspects of Hamas's operational method."
"Shifa, Rantisi, the Turkish hospital, and others – we have exposed how Hamas uses them for terrorist purposes," he added.
IDF Spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari
"In Nasser Hospital there are approximately 400 patients and thousands of displaced civilians. It is for this very reason that Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist, some of whom participated in the October 7th massacre, chose to hide there," according to Hagari.
"Following interrogations of terrorists arrested or surrendered in the area and testimonies of hostages who returned, we can confirm that kidnapped individuals were held in the hospital compound. In addition, we have information that bodies of hostages were also held there," he said during the briefing.
In recent hours, IDF Special forces have been operating in the hospital area against Hamas terrorist infrastructure, and scanning it to find hostages. While no findings have been made yet, we are still searching and will update all findings," according to Hagari. "So far, we have arrested dozens in the hospital area suspected in involvement in terrorism, who have been transferred for further investigation, and we have found weapons including grenades and mortar shells, within the hospital compound, placed near a point from which mortar shells were fired at our forces a month ago. At exactly that point, this was detected by our radars - firing from the Nasser Hospital at our forces - mortar fire from the hospital compound.
The interrogation of a terrorist who was detained in the Nasser hospital by IDF forces
Regarding the situation on the northern border, Hagari said "we continue to maintain a very high level of readiness in the north."
"In response to the launches towards Kiryat Shmona and Safed which also affected civilians, we conducted widespread strikes in Lebanon against military sites, Hezbollah operatives, and infrastructure of the Radwan Forces- we will respond severely to attacks against settlements and civilians," he also said.
"We are highly prepared in the north, in both defense and offense, ready to counter Hezbollah's terrorist threats. We are determined to change the security reality until the threat to the residents of the north is removed," he added.
In the investigation of the Hamas terrorist, revealed by the IDF spokesman, the terrorist described how operatives from the terrorist organization "guarded the gates and entrances of the buildings at the hospital." According to him, "there were dozens of operatives there during the war and they were guarding. They were in a part of one of the wards, next to rooms that had a lot of guards. This is exploitation of the citizens. Exploiting the citizens to protect themselves, human shields, that's what they called it."
The IDF spokesman said, in a statement intended for foreign media, that "In every hospital where we have operated, we have done so precisely and in accordance to international law and will continue to do so. We have no intention of disrupting the hospital’s function. Rather, we provide aid and needed equipment. The only ones with an interest in turning hospitals into battlegrounds are Hamas terrorists."
The area of the Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis
"One of the army's missions is to ensure that the hospital continues its important role in treating the hospitalized patients. We emphasized that there is no obligation for patients or staff members to evacuate the place. We are sending oxygen and fuel tanks at the request of the hospital, to ensure that it continues its vital role, without interruption," he also said.