Gaza hospital raid fails to reveal tunnels: Hamas

Failing to uncover evidence to back its allegation that Hamas command centre is concealed beneath Gaza’s largest hospital, Israeli forces signalled a possible expansion of operations to areas in Southern Gaza where hundreds of thousands of people who heeded earlier evacuation orders are crowded into UN-run shelters and family homes. Having encircled Shifa Hospital for days, Israel faced pressure to prove its claim that Hamas was using the patients, staff and civilians sheltering there to provide cover for its fighters. The allegation is part of Israel’s broader accusation that Hamas uses Palestinians as human shields. But after storming the hospital on Wednesday, its troops are still searching its underground levels on Thursday, without much success. The military released video from inside Shifa showed three duffel bags, each containing an assault rifle, grenades and Hamas uniforms, as well as a closet that contained a number of assault rifles without ammunition clips. The media could not independently verify the claims. The military said its troops killed four militants outside the hospital at the start of the operation, but through days of fighting, there were no reports of militants firing from inside Shifa. There were also no reports of any fighting within the hospital after Israeli troops entered. Broadening the offensive to the south — where Israel already carries out daily air raids — threatens to worsen an already severe humanitarian crisis in the besieged territory. Over 1.5 million people have been internally displaced in Gaza, with most having fled to the south, where food, water and electricity are increasingly scarce.