The Israeli military announced Thursday that it has credible intelligence that Hamas is holding captives at Gaza’s Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, the epicentre of war and stronghold of Hamas commander Yahya Sinwar.
Nasser Hospital is one of the main medical facilities in southern Gaza, which has been the subject of intense combat for several weeks.
Israel Defense Forces tweeted, “We have credible intelligence that Hamas held hostages in Nasser Hospital”, through its official ‘X’ handle.
“Since the Hamas massacre of October 7, the IDF has been operating to fulfill its mission of dismantling Hamas and bringing our hostages home”, IDF added in its tweet.
We have credible intelligence that Hamas held hostages in Nasser Hospital.
“Since the Hamas massacre of October 7, the IDF has been operating to fulfill its mission of dismantling Hamas and bringing our hostages home.” pic.twitter.com/5gzcbH6Vzc
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) February 15, 2024
R Adm Daniel Hagari, IDF spokesperson stated that the IDF is undertaking a precise and limited operation inside the Nasser Hospital, emphasizing that the facility would continue to perform its important tasks of treating Gazan patients and will not forcibly evacuate them.
Hagari stated, “We have credible information from several sources, including from released hostages, indicating that Hamas held captives at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis and that there may be bodies of our hostages in the Nasser hospital facility”, adding that Hamas terrorists are likely hiding behind injured civilians inside Nasser Hospital right now and appear to have used the hospital to hide our hostages there.
He went on to say, “We emphasized that there is no obligation for patients or staff to evacuate the hospital”.
“We have been urging Gazans, in Arabic on the phone and via loudspeakers, to move away from the danger that Hamas puts them in, via a humanitarian corridor we opened for the purpose of protecting uninvolved civilians in Gaza”, the spokesperson continued.
“We seek to hunt down Hamas terrorists wherever they may be hiding”, the spokesperson added.
During a week-long truce in November, dozens of the approximately 250 hostages seized by Hamas militants during the October 7 attack were released in exchange for Palestinian inmates.
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