Israel Releases CCTV Video Showing Hostages at Al-Shifa Hospital
In an effort to bolster their claims that Hamas militants are using Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital for military purposes, the Israel Defense Forces released CCTV videos and still images showing what they say are hostages being brought into the facility on October 7th. The IDF claims the hostages, one Nepali and one Thai, were being moved through the hospital by force, with one of them being pushed on a gurney down a hallway and into a room.
The IDF did not disclose how they obtained the videos, but they stated that Israeli intelligence officers were part of an operation inside the hospital in an attempt to locate the hostages. However, the authenticity of the videos and stills has not been independently verified by CNN.
Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry questioned the authenticity of the videos but also claimed that if true, the images showed that hospitals were providing medical care to anyone who needed it. The IDF spokesman countered this claim, stating that one of the hostages did not require medical treatment and had been brought to the hospital first before being moved to a hiding spot, such as a nearby apartment.
The release of the CCTV videos comes after an IDF raid on Al-Shifa Hospital last week, which aimed to prove the long-standing assertion that Hamas uses the medical center for combat and command purposes. The IDF also released video footage from inside an exposed tunnel shaft at the Al-Shifa compound, showing an underground tunnel extending downward from the shaft opening.
The videos have been shared with diplomats of the hostages’ countries of origin, and the IDF continues to search for the Nepali and Thai hostages in Gaza. Nepal’s ambassador to Israel confirmed that one Nepali citizen remained missing after the October 7th attack and was believed to have been taken hostage by Hamas.
This release of the CCTV footage marks another turn in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, with both sides presenting opposing narratives about the use and purpose of Al-Shifa Hospital. The authenticity and implications of the videos and images continue to be the subject of heightened scrutiny and controversy.