Hailey Tran
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has seen many developments over the years, with one of the most recent being the discovery of tunnels under a hospital in Gaza. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) raided Shifa Hospital, Gaza's largest hospital, in 2023, based on intelligence that Hamas was using the hospital's underground bunker as its command and control centre. While Hamas has a record of using civilian sites to shield its terrorist activity, the IDF has not presented evidence of Hamas controlling the infrastructure beneath the hospital. However, the New York Times confirmed that Hamas operated a tunnel beneath the European Gaza Hospital, and Israel claims this is proof that Hamas uses civilian infrastructure as a shield for military activity.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Location of tunnel | Underneath the European Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza |
| Width of tunnel | Just over 1 metre or 2 feet wide |
| Height of tunnel | Less than 2 metres or 6 feet tall |
| Purpose of tunnel | Allegedly used by Hamas as a military base and command centre |
| Israeli response | Israel claims the tunnel proves Hamas uses civilian infrastructure as a shield for military activity |
| Hamas response | Hamas has accused Israel of disregarding civilian life |
| Outcome | The tunnel and hospital are now under Israeli control |
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What You'll Learn
- Israel claims Hamas was using the tunnel as a military base
- Israel says Hamas commander Mohammed Sinwar was killed in the tunnel
- Israel says Hamas was using civilian infrastructure as a shield
- Israel says Hamas was abusing civilians by locating tunnels near hospitals
- Israel says Hamas' use of the hospital voided its protected status under international law
Israel claims Hamas was using the tunnel as a military base
Israel has accused Hamas of using a tunnel underneath a hospital in Gaza as a military base. The Israeli military released a video in December 2023 that it said showed Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar being driven through the tunnel. They later announced that they had found Sinwar's body in the tunnel, alongside that of Mohammad Sabaneh, a Hamas commander. The tunnel in question is located underneath the European Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have stated that the tunnel is part of an underground network that Hamas has been operating beneath hospitals and civilian sites in Gaza, including Al-Shifa Hospital, UN Relief and Works Agency schools, and even UN offices in Gaza City. IDF spokesperson Brig Gen Effie Defrin said that the discovery of Sinwar's body in the tunnel was "another example of the cynical use by Hamas, using civilians as human shields, using civilian infrastructure, hospitals, again and again".
Israel has long accused Hamas of using hospitals as hiding places for weapons and command centres, and the IDF has raided and attacked hospitals in Gaza, or ordered their evacuation, causing widespread international concern and putting the lives of patients and staff at risk. The IDF has defended its actions by stating that Hamas's continued military use of hospitals "jeopardizes its protected status under international law".
However, Hamas has denied using hospitals as bases, and hospital staff in Gaza have repeatedly denied that Hamas is using their facilities for military purposes. Local and foreign doctors have also denied allegations of Hamas's military use of hospitals, and Israel has rejected offers for an international delegation to inspect the sites. The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has expressed deep alarm over the situation, declaring that "medical personnel and medical facilities, including hospitals, must be respected and protected" under international humanitarian law.
The discovery of the tunnel and the body of Mohammed Sinwar has escalated tensions between Israel and Hamas, with Israel restating its aim to destroy Hamas and recover hostages.
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Israel says Hamas commander Mohammed Sinwar was killed in the tunnel
The Israeli military has announced that it has found the body of Hamas military leader Mohammed Sinwar in a tunnel at a hospital in southern Gaza. The tunnel was located beneath the European Hospital in Khan Younis, where Sinwar was believed to have been sheltering. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said that Sinwar's body was found alongside that of Mohammad Sabaneh, the commander of Hamas's Rafah Brigade, and that "several items belonging to Sinwar and Sabaneh were located, along with additional intelligence findings that were transferred for further investigation".
Sinwar, 49, was the younger brother of former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by Israeli troops in October 2024. Sinwar had risen through the ranks of Hamas since joining in the late 1980s, becoming a member of the group's military wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades. By 2005, he was commander of the Khan Younis Brigade and later became the de facto leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip. He was also involved in the planning of the 7 October 2023 attack on southern Israel, in which Hamas stormed southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.
The Israeli military has accused Hamas of using hospitals as hiding places for weapons and command centres, an allegation that Hamas denies. The IDF has mounted sieges and attacks on hospitals in Gaza, or ordered their evacuation, causing widespread international concern as many hospitals and medical facilities have been put out of action, putting the lives of patients and staff at risk.
The discovery of the tunnel beneath the European Hospital in Gaza has sparked debate about the use of civilian sites by Hamas to shield its terrorist activity. The IDF has stated that the group's continued military use of hospitals "jeopardizes its protected status under international law". Hamas has a record of using civilian sites for its operations, including tunnels beneath Al-Shifa Hospital, U.N. Relief and Works Agency schools, and even the U.N. offices in Gaza City, putting civilian lives in danger.
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Israel says Hamas was using civilian infrastructure as a shield
Israel has accused Hamas of using civilian infrastructure as a shield during the 2023 Gaza War. Specifically, Israel has alleged that Hamas has placed portions of its military tunnel system and command network beneath civilian infrastructure, including Gaza's Al-Shifa Hospital. Israel has released videos that it claims show the tunnel network under the European Hospital in southern Gaza. The New York Times has also confirmed the existence of a Hamas tunnel under the European Gaza Hospital.
Hamas has denied using civilians and civilian infrastructure as human shields, and human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, have found no evidence of human shielding by Hamas in past conflicts. Investigations by the United Nations and independent human rights groups have also failed to substantiate the allegations, while gathering evidence of Israel's own use of Palestinians as human shields. Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and Physicians for Human Rights Israel have denounced the use of taped confessions by Israel, stating that they likely violate international law and basic human rights.
Israel has presented photos and videos as evidence of Hamas's use of civilian infrastructure. For example, the IDF shared photos with CBS News that they said showed Hamas members launching rockets near UN facilities. The IDF also released footage of an underground tunnel under Al-Shifa Hospital, which passes directly under the Qatari building of the hospital and includes air-conditioned rooms, bathrooms, a kitchenette, electricity connections, and communication infrastructure.
Israel has accused Hamas of maintaining command and control bunkers and tunnel infrastructure below hospitals, causing Israel to kill civilians as collateral damage. An IDF spokesman, Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, accused Hamas of leaving Israel with no alternative: "We were dragged by Hamas to this point. If they weren't building their infrastructure under the hospitals, we wouldn't be here. We wouldn't attack this hospital." Israel has also accused Hamas of sending women and children to act as human shields to a compound it was targeting.
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Israel says Hamas was abusing civilians by locating tunnels near hospitals
Israel has accused Hamas of abusing civilians by locating tunnels and command centres near hospitals in Gaza. Hospitals are protected under international law, even if they provide medical care for combatants, but their use for other acts that are "harmful to the enemy" can make them legitimate targets for military action.
In 2023, the Israeli military claimed that Hamas had tunnels and bunkers under the Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest in Gaza, which it said were being used as command centres and to store weapons. However, Israel has not yet presented any evidence of this. In November 2023, Israeli forces remained at Al-Shifa for a little over a week, and before they left, they destroyed the tunnel.
In June 2025, the Israeli military escorted a reporter from The New York Times to a tunnel near a major hospital in southern Gaza, which they said led to the hiding place of a top Hamas militant commander. The Israeli military claimed that Hamas had endangered civilians and broken international law by directing its military operations from the cover of hospitals and schools.
Hamas has a record of using civilian sites to shield its terrorist activity. In 2024, American intelligence indicated that Hamas fighters had evacuated the Al-Shifa complex before Israeli forces moved in, destroying documents and electronics. During Israel's three-week war with Hamas in 2008, armed Hamas fighters in civilian clothing were seen in the hospital's corridors, and in 2014, Amnesty International reported that Hamas had used abandoned areas of Al-Shifa to "detain, interrogate, torture and otherwise ill-treat suspects".
However, critics have argued that Israel's attacks on hospitals have endangered civilians and constituted violations of international law. According to the World Health Organization, Israel has conducted at least 686 attacks on health facilities in Gaza since the start of the war, damaging at least 33 of Gaza's 36 hospitals. Rights groups and foreign governments have accused Israel of engaging in genocide by wrecking the Palestinian health system, an accusation that Israel strongly denies.
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Israel says Hamas' use of the hospital voided its protected status under international law
Israel has defended its attack on Gaza's Al-Shifa hospital, the largest in the region, saying Hamas' use of the hospital as a command centre voided its protected status under international law. The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said they carried out a "precise and targeted operation against Hamas in a specified area" within the hospital. The IDF also reported discovering an array of weapons inside the hospital, posting photos and videos of the same.
The Geneva conventions, adopted after World War II, form the core of international humanitarian law and are "particularly protective of civilian hospitals", according to Mathilde Philip-Gay, an expert in international humanitarian law. She adds that "if a civilian hospital is used for acts harmful to the enemy, that is the legal term used", and the hospital can lose its protected status under international law and be considered a legitimate target. Under International Humanitarian Law, hospitals enjoy protected status, but they lose protection when used to commit acts harmful to the enemy—including, sheltering combatants, holding hostages, storing weapons, and housing command centres.
Hamas has a long record of using civilian sites to shield its terrorist activity. The group has also dug tunnels beneath Al-Shifa Hospital, UN Relief and Works Agency schools, and even the UN offices in Gaza City, knowingly putting civilian lives in danger. IDF spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin accused Hamas of leaving Israel with no alternative. "We were dragged by Hamas to this point," Defrin said. "If they weren't building their infrastructure under the hospitals, we wouldn't be here. We wouldn't attack this hospital."
The IDF has provided warnings and taken measures to respect the medical functions of the facilities as well as the civilian staff and patients. This was exemplified in its March 2024 operation inside Al-Shifa. Likewise, during its first operation in Al-Shifa, in November 2023, the IDF provided warnings, called for the hospital to be evacuated, facilitated evacuation, maintained regular contact with hospital authorities, brought medical teams with Arabic speakers, and provided medical supplies and incubators. During its February 2024 operation in Nasser Hospital, Israel facilitated the evacuation of civilians, including 32 patients who were transferred by the WHO to other medical facilities.
The UN Security Council has debated Israeli attacks on hospitals allegedly misused by Hamas, with the UN Rights Chief urging independent probes. The representative of Israel underscored that hospitals are meant to be sanctuaries of care and compassion, but Hamas has transformed them into tools for terror.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, Israel found a tunnel under the European Gaza Hospital in Khan Younis, which is now under Israeli control.
The Israeli military claims that Hamas commander Mohammed Sinwar was killed in the tunnel.
Israel claims that Hamas was using the tunnel as a military base and a shield for military activity.
Israel provided footage and flight data of the tunnel network and claimed that weapons and intelligence were found within the tunnel.
Hamas denied the allegations and accused Israel of disregarding civilian life and targeting a protected medical facility.
