Al Shifa Hospital becomes focus of conflicting narratives

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Fighting has reached the gates of Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza: Israeli ground troops have almost fully encircled the medical buildings which it says sit above Hamas’s underground headquarters in Gaza City. Hamas and hospital staff deny the claims and say Israeli forces have trapped patients and civilians inside in dire conditions.

Al Shifa Hospital has become a focal point of the war in Gaza as a symbol of devastating civilian suffering and conflicting narratives from Israel and Hamas.

At the heart of competing claims about the hospital is Israel’s stance that Al Shifa sits above an extensive tunnel network housing the Islamist militant group’s headquarters in Gaza.

IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said on October 27 that Israel had “concrete evidence” that the hospital was being used to hide Hamas members and provided visuals and intercepted audio that he said was evidence of the organisation’s use of Al Shifa as its headquarters.

Hamas has multiple underground complexes under the hospital accessible via several tunnels and an entrance on one of the wards, he said.

Hamas and hospital staff at Al Shifa deny the Israeli allegations and have called for an independent investigation into the claims.

Meanwhile, Israeli troops look to have almost entirely encircled the medical complex, located in Gaza City, where as many as 3,000 patients and staff are sheltering inside without adequate fuel, water or food, the World Health Organization (WHO) and UN agencies said on Monday.