He says Israel has intelligence that there are several tunnels leading to the underground base from outside the hospital, so that Hamas officials do not need to enter the hospital to reach it. But Hagari added that there is also an entrance to the underground complex from within one of the wards.
“Hamas terrorists operate inside and under Shifa hospital – and other hospitals in Gaza – with a network of terror tunnels,” he said. “Shifa is not the only hospital; it is one of many. Hamas use of hospitals is systematic.”
Additionally, according to the IDF, Hamas’s internal security has a command center inside Shifa Hospital, from which it directs rocket fire on Israel and stores weapons.
That Hamas has its command headquarters in Al-Shifa has been an open secret for more than a decade. From 2009:
The Washington Post wrote about it almost 10 years ago.
At the Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, crowds gathered to throw shoes and eggs at the Palestinian Authority’s health minister, who represents the crumbling “unity government” in the West Bank city of Ramallah. The minister was turned away before he reached the hospital, which has become a de facto headquarters for Hamas leaders, who can be seen in the hallways and offices.
Also from 2014: Top Secret Hamas Command Bunker in Gaza Revealed https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/top-secret-hamas-command-bunker-in-gaza-revealed#undefined
The idea that one of Hamas’ main command bunkers is located beneath Shifa Hospital in Gaza City is one of the worst-kept secrets of the Gaza war. So why aren’t reporters in Gaza ferreting it out? The precise location of a large underground bunker equipped with sophisticated communications equipment and housing some part of the leadership of a major terrorist organization beneath a major hospital would seem to qualify as a world-class scoop—the kind that might merit a Pulitzer, or at least a Polk.
So why isn’t the fact that Hamas uses Shifa Hospital as a command post making headlines? In part, it’s because the location is so un-secret that Hamas regularly meets with reporters there…
Back in 2006, PBS even aired a documentary showing how gunmen roam the halls of the hospital, intimidate the staff, and deny them access to protected locations within the building—where the camera crew was obviously prohibited from filming.
Arab and Western officials say there is substance to Israeli claims of Hamas stockpiling supplies, including desperately needed food and fuel…
One of the four Israeli hostages released by Hamas even described the group providing captives with medicine, shampoo and feminine hygiene products. All are now said to be extraordinarily scarce in Gaza more than two weeks after Israel, aided by Egypt, imposed what it called a “complete” blockade following the attack by the terrorist group on Oct. 7.