What the latest IDF footage from al Shifa hospital tells us about Hamas’s alleged presence there
Israeli troops are continuing their operation at Gaza’s biggest hospital, al Shifa, which has been a primary target of the ground assault.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) entered al Shifa on Wednesday as it believes Hamas’s headquarters are located underneath the hospital within a complex network of tunnels and operational offices.
The Palestinian Islamist group and doctors at al Shifa deny it is being used by Hamas.
Sky News has located three videos taken in two different areas inside al Shifa complex and released by the IDF, and analysed some of the evidence found.
Al Shifa hospital. Pic: Maxar Technologies
Alleged tunnel shaft
The Israeli army claims it has found the entrance to a Hamas tunnel shaft in its latest video posted on Friday.
It’s filmed in the eastern edge of the hospital – as the side of the surgery building is seen in the background of the video.
The hole highlighted in the footage appears to be a few metres deep, littered with and surrounded by concrete, wood, rubble and sand.
Twisted metal can be seen around the opening of the hole. In part of the footage, a bulldozer can be seen in the background.
The lower part of the alleged tunnel appears to have a smooth surface, but it offers only a limited view, so it is difficult to be certain what purpose it might serve.
From the position and length of the shadow, Sky News estimates the footage above was taken between 12pm and 2pm local time on Thursday.
But beyond that, it is not possible to gauge how deep it goes. The army has not released further footage at al Shifa relating to alleged tunnels.
Weapons ‘found’ in truck
The IDF posted another video inside al Shifa on Thursday and said it found a white vehicle in the complex which it claims contained dozens of weapons.
Ammunition, knives, RPGs, bulletproof vests and handcuffs are among the objects laid out on blankets. Plate carriers are used to carry bulletproof plates and other equipment, and rifle magazines store bullets used in the firearms.
Pic: IDF
While the images and footage do not prove who the weapons belong to, military analyst Sean Bell says they are among the types of weapons used by Hamas.
He said: “As they are a militia group, they use small arms like AK-47s and hand grenades. An AK-47 is widely used and is the sort of the weapon of choice for a lot of militia groups.”
The footage was taken metres away from the alleged tunnel, as you can also see the surgery building in the background.
This location is not in an area previously highlighted by the IDF where it believes Hamas’s headquarters and depots are underground as seen in the map below.
Al Shifa hospital. Pic: Maxar Technologies
A doctor at al Shifa, Ahmed El Mokhallalati, said it is a “totally terrifying situation” at the hospital, adding that Israeli forces had “found nothing”. The hospital is packed with patients and displaced people and is struggling to maintain operations.
The latest series of videos from al Shifa follows another released by the IDF on Wednesday, which showed Israeli forces walking through the hospital’s MRI clinic behind the emergency department.
What has the IDF said about al Shifa?
It is known that Hamas has a vast network of underground tunnels within the Gaza Strip. However, the group denies Israeli claims that it uses the hospital as a shield for tunnels and operational centres.
Israeli military officials say their operation inside the hospital is based on their understanding of a “well-hidden terrorist infrastructure” in the complex.
The IDF has previously said the entrance to Hamas’s underground HQ consists of a “number of tunnel shafts adjacent to the hospital”, adding that “additional entrances are located in various departments of the hospital, including the admissions department”, in a press release on 27 October.
A screenshot of an IDF video of an illustration of the type of tunnel network it believes is underneath al Shifa
It also released a video featuring an illustration of the type of infrastructure it believes exists underneath the hospital as seen in the screenshot above.
In a news conference, IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the force would “not share the true material that we have in our hands”.
It has said Hamas has stored weapons and ammunition and is holding hostages in a network of tunnels under hospitals like al Shifa, using patients and people taking shelter there as human shields.
Hamas has denied operating out of medical facilities.
The Data and Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source information. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.
World
IDF presence in Gaza ‘only issue’ still to be resolved in push for Israel-Hamas ceasefire, Sky News understands
Only one issue remains unresolved in the push to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza, according to Sky sources.
Intense negotiations are taking place in Qatar in parallel with key talks in Washington between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Two sources with direct knowledge of the negotiations have told Sky News that disagreement between Israel and Hamas remains on the status and presence of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) inside Gaza.
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Gaza ceasefire deal in progress
The two sides have bridged significant differences on several other issues, including the process of delivering humanitarian aid and Hamas’s demand that the US guarantees to ensure Israel doesn’t unilaterally resume the war when the ceasefire expires in 60 days.
On the issue of humanitarian aid, Sky News understands that a third party that neither Hamas nor Israel has control over will be used in areas from which the IDF withdraws.
Benjamin Netanyahu briefed reporters on Capitol Hill about the talks on Tuesday. Pic: AP
This means that the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) – jointly run by an American organisation and Israel – will not be able to operate anywhere where the IDF is not deployed. It will limit GHF expansion plans.
It is believed the United Nations or other recognised humanitarian organisations will adopt a greater role.
On the issue of a US guarantee to prevent Israel restarting the war, Sky News understands that a message was passed to Hamas by Dr Bishara Bahbah, a Palestinian American who has emerged as a key back channel in the negotiations.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
Read more from Sky News:
Trump puts pressure on Netanyahu
Netanyahu backs Trump for peace prize
Potential Gaza deal explained
The message appears to have been enough to convince Hamas that President Trump will prevent Israel from restarting the conflict.
However, there is no sense from any of the developments over the course of the past day about what the future of Gaza looks like longer-term.
Final challenge is huge
The last remaining disagreement is, predictably, the trickiest to bridge.
Israel’s central war aim, beyond the return of the hostages, is the total elimination of Hamas as a military and political organisation. The withdrawal of the IDF, partial or total, could allow Hamas to regroup.
One way to overcome this would be to provide wider guarantees of clear deliverable pathways to a viable future for Palestinians.
But there is no sense from the negotiations of any longer-term commitments on this issue.
Two key blocks have been resolved over the past 24 hours but the final challenge is huge.
The conflict in Gaza erupted when Hamas attacked southern Israel in October 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures. Some 20 hostages are believed to remain alive in Gaza.
Israel has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
US President Donald Trump is putting “heavy” pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the war in Gaza, two sources close to the ceasefire negotiations have told Sky News.
One US source said: “The US pressure on Israel has begun, and tonight it will be heavy.”
The source, who is not authorised to speak publicly, was referring to the White House dinner on Monday night between Trump and Netanyahu.
A second Middle Eastern diplomatic source agreed that the American pressure on Israel would be intense.
Benjamin Netanyahu gave Donald Trump a letter saying he had nominated him for a Nobel Peace Prize. Pic: AP
Netanyahu arrived in Washington DC in the early hours of Monday morning and held meetings on Monday with Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Middle East envoy, and Marco Rubio, the secretary of state and national security adviser.
The Israeli prime minister plans to be in Washington until Thursday with meetings on Capitol Hill on Tuesday.
Trump has made clear his desire to bring the Gaza conflict to an end.
However, he has never articulated how a lasting peace, which would satisfy both the Israelis and Palestinians, could be achieved.
His varying comments about ownership of Gaza, moving Palestinians out of the territory and permanent resettlement, have presented a confusing policy.
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‘Israel has shifted towards economy of genocide’
Situation for Palestinians worse than ever
Over the coming days, we will see the extent to which Trump demands that Netanyahu accepts the current Gaza ceasefire deal, even if it falls short of Israel’s war aims – the elimination of Hamas.
The strategic objective to permanently remove Hamas seems always to have been impossible. Hamas as an entity was the extreme consequence of the Israeli occupation.
The Palestinians’ challenge has not gone away, and the situation for Palestinians now is worse than it has ever been in Gaza and also the West Bank. It is not clear how Trump plans to square that circle.
Read more:
Explainer – What is the possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal?
Israeli soldier describes arbitrary killing of civilians in Gaza
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‘Some Israeli commanders can decide to do war crimes’
Trump’s oft-repeated desire to “stop the killing” is sincere. Those close to him often emphasise this. He is also looking to cement his legacy as a peacemaker. He genuinely craves the Nobel Peace Prize.
In this context, the complexities of conflicts – in Ukraine or Gaza – are often of secondary importance to the president.
If Netanyahu can be persuaded to end the war, what would he need?
The hostages back – for sure. That would require agreement from Hamas. They would only agree to this if they have guarantees on Gaza’s future and their own future. More circles to square.
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Trump 100: We answer your questions
Was White House dinner a key moment?
The Monday night dinner could have been a key moment for the Middle East. Two powerful men in the Blue Room of the White House, deciding the direction of the region.
Will it be seen as the moment the region was remoulded? But to whose benefit?
Trump is a dealmaker with an eye on the prize. But Netanyahu is a political master; they don’t call him “the magician” for nothing.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
Trump makes decisions instinctively. He can shift position quickly and often listens to the last person in the room. Right now – that person is Netanyahu.
Gaza is one part of a jigsaw of challenges, which could become opportunities.
Diplomatic normalisation between Israel and the Arab world is a prize for Trump and could genuinely secure him the Nobel Peace Prize.
But without the Gaza piece, the jigsaw is incomplete.
World
‘Widespread sexual violence’ took place during Hamas’s 7 October attacks, report by Israeli experts says
A newly released report led by Israeli legal and gender experts presents detailed evidence alleging “widespread and systematic” sexual violence during the Hamas-led terror attack on 7 October.
Warning: This story contains descriptions of rape and sexual violence
The findings, published by the Dinah Project, argue that these acts amount to conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), and assert that “Hamas used sexual violence as a tactical weapon of war”.
The report draws on 18 months of investigation and is based on survivor testimonies, eyewitness accounts, and interviews with first responders, morgue personnel and healthcare professionals.
According to the Dinah Project, the documented patterns – such as forced nudity, gang rapes, genital mutilation, and threats of forced marriage – indicate a deliberate and coordinated use of sexual violence by Hamas operatives during the attack.
Reported incidents span at least six locations, including the Nova music festival, and several kibbutzim in southern Israel.
A destroyed car near the police station in Sderot, following the 7 October attacks by Hamas. Pic: AP
One section of the report describes victims “found fully or partially naked from the waist down, with their hands tied behind their backs and/or to structures such as trees and poles, and shot”.
At the Nova music festival and surrounding areas, the investigators found “reasonable grounds to believe” that multiple women were raped or gang-raped before being killed.
The report’s findings are consistent with earlier investigations by the United Nations and the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Read more:
What is the possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal?
Israeli soldier describes arbitrary killing of civilians in Gaza
The UN’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict previously concluded that there were “reasonable grounds to believe” CRSV took place during the attack.
Destroyed vehicles near the grounds of the Supernova electronic music festival. Pic: AP
Significantly, the Dinah Project urges the international community to officially recognise the use of sexual violence by Hamas as a deliberate strategy of war and calls on the United Nations to add Hamas to its list of parties responsible for conflict-related sexual violence.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
The nature and scale of sexual violence on 7 October have been a subject of intense controversy, with some accusing parties of weaponising the narrative for political ends.
This report seeks to confront what its authors call “denial, misinformation, and global silence,” and to provide justice for the victims.
Hamas has denied that its fighters have used sexual violence and mistreated female hostages.
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