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The United States is “confident” that militant groups, specifically Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, utilized Gaza’s Shifa hospital complex for military operations, including holding hostages and hosting command infrastructure. This comes from a declassified American intelligence assessment, which, while not entirely corroborating Israel’s broader claims, provides substantial support for some of the Israeli allegations against the hospital’s use during the conflict.
This assessment states, “The US Intelligence Community is confident in its judgment on this topic and has independently corroborated information on HAMAS and PIJ’s use of the hospital complex for a variety of purposes related to its campaign against Israel.” It further specifies that these purposes included housing command infrastructure, storing weapons, and detaining hostages.
This revelation emerged amid widespread criticism of an Israeli raid on the facility in November, which was denounced by global humanitarian organizations and some members of President Biden’s party.
Additionally, US officials have indicated that members of Hamas evacuated the hospital days before the Israeli raid, allegedly destroying sensitive materials. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said, “I can confirm for you that we have information that Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad use some hospitals in the Gaza Strip, including al-Shifa, and tunnels underneath them to conceal and to support their military operations and to hold hostages.”