Recent reports reveal the creative way Hamas fighters attempted to smuggle terrorists out of Gaza— through ambulances that were meant to carry wounded civilians out of the country.
This week, the Times of Israel reported that Hamas members used ambulances to try and smuggle terrorists out of Gaza. However, the group was stopped at the border as the U.S. and Egypt reviewed lists of passengers.
A senior Biden Administration official gave the Times of Israel more details:
Hamas tried to sneak its fighters out of the Gaza Strip in ambulances that evacuated dozens of wounded Palestinians to Egypt earlier this week, a senior Biden administration official said Friday. Hamas had compiled a list of the seriously wounded that it wanted to evacuate from Gaza for treatment in Egypt, along with thousands of foreign nationals looking to flee the enclave. The list was then vetted by Egypt and the United States, which found that a third of the names on it were of Hamas fighters, the administration official said, adding that the list was rejected, and none of the 76 wounded Palestinians who were ultimately evacuated in ambulances out of Gaza were members of the terror group.
In addition, senior Israeli officials revealed that inspectors found several oxygen concentrators meant to inflate the tunnels operated by terror organizations in Gaza hidden in the bed of an aid truck.
Terrorist groups often use ambulances to smuggle combatants and weapons, which is a war crime.
A Biden Administration official said that Israel “significantly refined” its initial military plan for its war against Hamas following talks with the U.S.
The official said that calling for a ceasefire after Hamas terrorists slaughtered at least 1,400 Israelis would not be the proper position for the U.S. to take.
A ceasefire, according to the Biden official, “depends on the Israelis feeling secure and ensuring something like this cannot happen again.”
However, a “pause” would allow civilians and aid to pass into Gaza safely.