Hamas regains control of Gaza hospital Israel linked to rocket production
Kyiv • UNN
Hamas militants seized the Jordanian field hospital in Gaza after a shootout, regaining control of the area. Israel and local residents consider the hospital a long-standing stronghold of Islamists, using it as an operational base with a tunnel.
Hamas militants have once again taken control of a hospital that Israel once linked to rocket production. This is reported by The Wall Street Journal, according to UNN.
Details
Last week, armed Hamas militants seized the Jordanian Field Hospital complex in Gaza after a shootout with a rival Palestinian faction. They thus regained control of an area that locals and the Israeli military consider a long-standing Islamist stronghold.
Hamas, which the US recognizes as a terrorist organization, ordered all other Palestinians to leave the hospital at gunpoint and took control of the facility and surrounding areas.
This was stated by Mohammad Doghmush, a representative of an influential local clan. According to him, the militants "completely took control and restored their positions."
The Doghmush family and the Israeli military claim that Hamas used the hospital premises as an operational base, and nearby there was a tunnel connecting the hospital to underground structures.
It is noted that during the Israeli army's offensive, the militants left the territory, but as soon as the truce began to take effect.
Jordan denied any links between the hospital and Hamas and stated that it was unaware of the presence of tunnels. The Israeli military confirmed that Jordan was not informed of this activity.
Hospitals in Gaza have repeatedly become centers of hostilities between Israel and Hamas since the war began on October 7, 2023. Israel accuses militants of using medical facilities as shelters and command posts, as well as using civilians as human shields to avoid strikes. The army has repeatedly shown journalists tunnels under hospitals, including Al-Shifa and the European Hospital in Khan Younis.
Hamas categorically denies these accusations.
A representative of the Hamas-controlled government in Gaza stated that their forces were clearing the hospital of criminal groups that had seized and looted it after the evacuation of staff. According to him, some forces remained only to guard the property and would later transfer control to the previous owners. He insisted that the hospital was purely a medical facility and had no connection to Hamas.
Many large family clans operate in Gaza, including armed groups, sometimes involved in crimes. Some of them are linked to political forces that oppose Hamas and have long-standing conflicts with it. Some of these groups, according to reports, receive Israeli support as a counterweight to the Islamists.
According to the publication, in early October, the Israeli army showed journalists an underground tunnel near the hospital, which, they said, was used to produce rockets. The military released drone footage showing rooms, equipment, and rocket bodies.
Due to the danger, journalists were not allowed inside, and the Israelis filled the tunnel with concrete on October 9, the day before the troops were withdrawn.
As of now, the Jordanian Hospital is again under Hamas control.