Nog een ziekenhuis dat door Hamas wordt misbruikt.
JULY 21, 2014 11:00 AM
Author: Joshua Levitt
A screenshot of a Hamas diagram, filmed as part of an IDF video from 2009's Operation Cast Lead, showing how weapons are hidden by mosques. Photo: IDF / Screenshot.
Contrary to international rules of warfare, Hamas has commandeered a large hospital in Gaza City as its "de facto headquarters," theWashington Post reported.
Buried eight paragraphs in,The Post's correspondent, William Booth, wrote on July 15:
"At the Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, crowds gathered to throw shoes and eggs at the Palestinian Authority's health minister, who represents the crumbling 'unity government' in the West Bank city of Ramallah. The minister was turned away before he reached the hospital, which has become a de facto headquarters for Hamas leaders, who can be seen in the hallways and offices."
Last week, The Post also reported, and also included near the end of an article, how Hamas was hiding rockets inside of a mosque, also against international rules of war. On Friday, buried toward's the end of The Post's dispatch from the front, one of its correspondents reported actually seeing rockets being moved into the mosque during Thursday's five-hour humanitarian ceasefire:
"During the lull, a group of men at a mosque in northern Gaza said they had returned to clean up the green glass from windows shattered in the previous day's bombardment. But they could be seen moving small rockets into the mosque."
According to international rules of military engagement, civilian public and religious buildings cannot to be used to shield weapons, but that has been a long-held Hamas tactic in Gaza.
On Thursday, UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, said it discovered 20 rockets hidden in a vacant school it operated in Gaza.
UNRWA said the rockets were discovered during a "regular inspection" and that it immediately "informed the relevant parties and successfully took all necessary measures for the removal of the objects in order to preserve the safety and security of the school."
The UNRWA came under criticism on social media for handing the rockets back to the "relevant parties," who readers interpreted as being the Hamas militants who hid the arms in the school.
VIDEO: Terrorists fire rockets from Gaza hospital
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4548760,00.html
Israel says Hamas uses Wafa hospital compound to attack soldiers, fire anti-tank missiles; ground, air forces attack Gaza City where they claim 'an entire Hamas brigade is active'; 10 terrorists killed.
Yoav Zitun
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The IDF Spokesperson's Unit released footage documenting Hamas terrorists launching rockets from the al Wafa Hospital compound in Gaza City's Shajaiyeh neighborhood.
The IDF said that after days of consideration it has begun to attack the Wafa Hospital compound. The military claimed the hospital has been a hotbed of terrorists activities, with gun and anti-tank missile fire originating from the cite.
Later Wednesday, the IDF said it had killed 10 terrorists and found a tunnel which contained IDF uniforms and arms.
Israel has long claimed that Hamas and other Gaza terror groups are using civilian centers – like hospitals, mosques and schools – to launch attacks on Israel. Just last week some 20 rockets were found in an UNRWA school.
The al Wafa hospital was evacuated last week after a number of phone call warnings from the IDF.
The hospital, which serves as a rehab facility had gained attention after a group of activists moved in to be alongside 17 patients could not be evacuated.
Al Wafa hospital (Photo: EPA)
Nevertheless, they were moved last Thursday to a nearby hospital as Israel struck targets that rattled the facility.
The IDF released aerial photos today that they claim show the locations of Hamas rocket launch sites placed dangerously close to civilian sites. The photos claim to show rocket launchers inside the grounds of a mosque and a playground as well as a rocket launcher that appears to be adjacent to al-Wafa hospital.
Photo: EPA
Clouds of black smoke hung over the densely populated Gaza in the morning hours, with the regular thud of artillery and tank shells filling the air.
"We are meeting resistance around the tunnels ... they are constantly trying to attack us around and in the tunnels. That is the trend," said IDF spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Lerner.
He said 30 militant gunman had been killed overnight, bringing the total to 210 since the offensive started.
A Palestinian health official said eight Hamas fighters died in the ferocious battle near Khan Younis, from where the Palestinian Red Crescent was trying to evacuate about 250. Khan Younis has been under Israeli tank shelling and drone strikes since early Wednesday.
The Red Crescent said Hamas fighters in the area were deploying rocket propelled grenades and light weapons, including machine guns, against the Israelis.
Hundreds of residents of eastern Khan Younis were seen fleeing their homes as the battle unfolded, flooding into the streets with what few belongings they could carry, many with children in tow. They said they were seeking shelter in nearby UN schools.
"The airplanes and airstrikes are all around us," said Aziza Msabah, a resident of Khan Younis. "They are hitting the houses, which are collapsing upon us."
Hamas's armed wing, the Izz el-Deen Al-Qassam, said its fighters had detonated an anti-personnel bomb as an Israeli army patrol passed, killing several troops. There was no immediate confirmation from Israel.
Photo: AP
There was also violence in the West Bank, where a Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli troops near Bethlehem. The army said soldiers fired a rubber bullet at him during clashes with Palestinians hurling rocks and Molotov cocktails.
According the IDF, they targeted Gaza City's Shajaiyeh area , dropping over 120 bombs on the area, which they claimed was home to a "Hamas battalion," a senior IDF source said.
According to the source, a Hamas command center was also to be found in the area, and some 28 tunnels, six of which were destroyed.
"Destroying tunnels is the heart of our current activities, and we are seeing more and more fighting around their entrances. Shajaiyeh terrorists have been dealt a serious blow."
He further claimed that there was growing pressure on the Palestinian population.
Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report
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