Ever since Hamas took power in the Gaza Strip, the Iran-backed terrorists have been known for their barbarism, blood-thirsty attacks, and abysmal human rights record as the terrorist government prioritized the death of Israelis over the wellbeing of residents of Gaza. That includes, unsurprisingly, using hospitals as a key piece of their terrorist infrastructure along with a tunnel network and weapons production.
In Hamas' new bloody war against Israel, the use of hospitals has continued — if not increased — as they use the facilities that ought to be for care are instead used to kill. With an awful lot of Hamas disinformation being parroted by apparent terrorist sympathizers in the media, politics, and entertainment, it's worth setting the record straight.
The experts over at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) put together a quick list of "10 Things to Know About Hamas and Hospitals" that debunk anti-Semitic narratives about Israel's actions, lay bare the horror of Hamas terrorism, and make it clear that Hamas terrorists are war criminals, not some sort of liberating "freedom fighters" as some falsely and foolishly claim.
As FDD's explainer notes, Hamas regularly uses hospitals as shields, a violation of the Geneva Conventions which prohibit military activity within them. Specifically, international humanitarian law states that hospitals and medical facilities "are, as far as possible, situated in such a manner that attacks against military objectives cannot imperil their safety" and "under no circumstances shall medical units be used in an attempt to shield military objectives from attack."
Yet, that's exactly what Hamas has and is continuing to do. In addition to storing weapons and other military collateral inside and beneath hospitals, Hamas doctrine states that attacks are specifically to be launched from hospitals and other civilian buildings. FDD notes that NATO analyzed Hamas terrorism from 2008 to 2014 and concluded that the terrorists launch "rockets, artillery, and mortars from or in proximity to heavily populated civilian areas, often from or near facilities which should be protected.
What's more, Hamas built and still uses a command center built beneath the Shifa hospital, the largest such facility in the Gaza Strip. According to FDD, the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center explains how Hamas "closed off some of the departments, stationed armed guards and closely examined everyone in the hospital" while "Ismail Haniyeh, head of the de facto Hamas administration, set up his headquarters in the hospital's burn ward." The use of the hospital has come in handy for Hamas propagandists who use the hospital courtyard for interviews with "wounded patients as props," FDD notes.
Hamas terrorists have been holed up beneath Shifa hospital since 2007, terrorizing actual doctors and other staff trying to administer medical care. Hamas fighters have caused "suffering from fear and terror" according to a doctor there, FDD emphasizes, and other reports state that "Hamas commanders even at times wear doctor's robes." Even though there's been widespread talk and evidence of Hamas using the hospital as what is essentially its headquarters of terror, FDD notes that reporters in Gaza have avoided publishing on the reality due to fear for their safety.
This also isn't the first time Hamas has been caught (unsurprisingly) violating international law with its use of hospitals, either. As FDD reminds, Hamas also hid within and around hospitals during its 2014 war against Israel. Then, as now, hospitals were used as "command centers" in attempts to avoid being struck by Israeli counter-terror operations.
Back in 2014, Hamas transformed the Al-Wafa hospital into an operations center, rocket launch facility, and observation post, the Israel Defense Forces reported at the time as FDD's explainer reminds. "Hamas repeatedly opened fire from hospital windows and used anti-tank missiles from the premises" of the hospital.
By choosing to use hospitals for such military activities in violation of international law, Hamas seeks to — and often succeeds — at using hospitals for its propaganda operations. As the world saw earlier this month, a terrorist rocket fired by Palestinian Islamic Jihad blew up a parking law near a hospital in Gaza City. Hamas quickly blamed the blast on an Israeli airstrike, supposedly a direct hit on a hospital, killing some 500 innocent people. The mainstream media and a handful of American politicians took Hamas disinformation and parroted it without confirming any of the terrorists' claims, and protests broke out around the Arab world. But it was all a lie. The rocket came from a terrorist group within the Gaza strip, not Israel. The blast struck a parking lot, not the actual hospital, and the death toll was in the dozens at most.
Even though U.S. and Israeli intelligence confirmed that what Hamas had said was a fabrication, the terrorist propaganda had done its damage: making Israel look like the aggressor and Hamas-run Gazans look like the victims. And that's why Hamas uses hospitals for its terror operations.
In addition to endangering people seeking medical care at hospitals in Gaza by illegally using said patients as human shields, Hamas commits other human rights abuses at hospitals. As FDD reminds, Human Rights Watch released a report in 2007 that "recounted how Hamas executed a rival Fatah member and his two sons at a hospital in Beit Hanun. A 2008 New York Times story "reported in gory detail how Hamas murdered six suspected collaborators in a 24-hour span." And "Palestinian reporter Radjaa Abu Dagga said he was taken for questioning by Hamas to Al-Shifa hospital, his passport was taken, and he was prohibited from leaving the Gaza Strip" in 2014, FDD adds.
According to the Fatah opposition, Hamas uses hospitals for interrogation and torture as well. For example, the Al-Shifa hospital's x-ray department was turned into a prison and interrogation facility by Hamas. An outpatient clinic nearby was used for interrogation and torture as recently as 2015, an Amnesty International report cited by FDD recounted. "At least three people arrested during the conflict accused of 'collaboration' died in custody."
Rounding out FDD's list of 10 things to know: Hamas uses ambulances for terrorism. "The use of ambulances not only denies civilians who are injured the use of the ambulance," FDD explains, "but also puts at risk medical workers if terrorists use the ambulance in the course of their activities."
As Hamas has made clear, its terrorist government does not care about the health, safety, or well-being of Gaza's residents. It only exists and operates to perpetrate terror targeting Israel and her citizens. Those lamenting the poor conditions in the Gaza Strip too often blame Israel for Hamas' dereliction of basic government duties. But it is Hamas, and not Israel, that turns medical facilities into terror headquarters, co-opts ambulances for transportation, and uses hospitals for the torture and incarceration of its own citizens.
To learn more about Hamas and other Iran-backed terrorists' war against Israel from FDD, view their latest flash briefs and reports here.
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