New Delhi:
Former Israel Prime Minister Ehud Barak on Monday mentioned his nation had constructed a few of the bunkers beneath Gaza’s war-torn Al Shifa Hospital, which has been within the information this previous week after Israeli forces mentioned they discovered a 55-metre “terrorist tunnel” the Hamas had used as a command outpost.
The ex-PM prompt the underground area had been constructed by Israel “many decades ago” – most likely when Tel Aviv occupied Gaza – “to enable more space for operation of the hospital”.
Talking to CNN journalist Christiane Amanpour, Mr Barak mentioned “it is already known for many years that they (the Hamas) have bunkers originally built by Israeli constructors underneath Al Shifa”.
“… was used as Hamas command outpost… it was at junction of several tunnels (that were) part of this system. I don’t know to what extent it is ‘major’… probably not only command outpost… there are others under other hospitals or sensitive places, but for sure it was used by Hamas,” he mentioned.
Pressed by Ms Amanpour on whether or not he misspoke, Mr Barak clarified, “No… you know, many decades ago we were running the place, four decades ago… so we helped them to build these bunkers to enable more space for operation of hospital, within limited size of the compound.”
In 2009, Israeli information outlet Haaretz mentioned that within the Nineteen Eighties Tel Aviv had expanded the Al Shifa Hospital – constructed within the late Nineteen Sixties, when Gaza was underneath Egyptian rule – compound to incorporate a “large cement basement that housed the hospital’s laundry and various administrative services”.
Mr Barak prompt the Hamas might have since expanded and linked it to different tunnels and bunkers.
Mr Barak additionally confused that due to the “cautious” method to storming the hospital – which was first surrounded by Israeli tanks because it was starved of meals, gas, water and medicines – Hamas operatives had time to erase, to a big extent, traces of their actions beneath the medical facility.
“We do not pretend to kill ideologies.” I spoke with former Israeli PM @barak_ehud concerning the warfare in Gaza and dangers of additional radicalization. “We are doing our best,” he says. “We feel fully committed to international law, fully committed to this principle of proportionality.” pic.twitter.com/hQZ0mE2VOX
— Christiane Amanpour (@amanpour) November 20, 2023
“We warned for many days we are going to come here. Then we came, very cautiously, in order to avoid loss of lives among doctors, patients… as a result Hamas had all the time in the world to try to make it less apparent that it (the bunker) was in use. But we are confident that for years it was used… as major or non-major… command outpost for Hamas activities,” he advised the CNN anchor.
Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of constructing a command centre in a tunnel community beneath Gaza Metropolis’s largest hospital – a declare the US says its personal intelligence helps however Hamas denies.
Hamas has acknowledged it has an unlimited community of secret tunnels, bunkers and entry shafts all through the Palestinian enclave, however has denied these are in civilian infrastructure like hospitals.
READ | “Inhuman, Bodies Everywhere”: Horror At Gaza Hospital, 179 In Mass Grave
Final week, Israel launched footage of the tunnel entrance – positioned close to what they mentioned was a Hamas operative’s home and fortified with an explosives-proof door – and bunkers beneath the hospital.
READ | Hamas Tunnel, Physique Of Hostage: What Israel Claims It Discovered At Gaza Hospital
The Israeli navy additionally launched images of weapons it mentioned it had discovered contained in the tunnel and bunkers; these have been dismissed by the Hamas as “lies and cheap propaganda”, Reuters reported.
There may be nonetheless no unbiased affirmation that the areas beneath the hospital have been a Hamas command outpost however, as worldwide media level out, Israel will wish to set up this as ‘reality’ to counter rising stress to stop navy operations by which over 10,000 individuals have already died.
In the meantime, Gaza woke Wednesday to a measure of fine information.
READ | Israel Agrees To Deal For Launch Of fifty Hostages, Hamas Welcomes ‘Truce’
Israel and Hamas have agreed to a four-day truce that can see the latter launch not less than 50 hostages – girls and youngsters. The truce can be anticipated to see 150 Palestinians launched from Israeli jails.
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