The Israeli military sought on Wednesday to bolster its assertions that Hamas uses tunnels beneath the largest hospital in the Gaza Strip, releasing a series of videos that it said showed “dozens of metres of a tunnel system” beneath the complex of Shifa Hospital.

Israeli and US officials have said that Hamas uses hospitals to provide cover for its military operations, accusations that Hamas and hospital administrators have denied. Israel, under increasing international pressure to prove those claims, has released several videos to press its case, showing elements of its cautious exploration of underground structures the military identifies as Hamas tunnels.

The videos so far — including those released on Wednesday — have not shown conclusive evidence of a vast network of tunnels.

One video released this month included a military spokesperson showing weapons that he said were found at Shifa. Another showed a section of a tunnel that
The New York Times verified was recorded at Shifa.

That tunnel resembled the one seen in a video released on Wednesday. In that video, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, the chief spokesperson for the Israeli military, is shown holding a flashlight as he and a group of soldiers traverse a tunnel with an arched ceiling that he describes as being underneath the Shifa complex.

The videos released on Wednesday also show at least two toilets, a small alcove with a sink and a room with exposed wiring. Hagari says in the video that the room, and an electrical panel in another part of the tunnel, are connected to electricity sourced through the hospital.

New York Times News Service