On Sunday, the Gaza Government Media Office issued a stern denial to Israeli claims regarding an underground Hamas tunnel beneath European Hospital in Khan Yunis as reports emerged from both sides regarding an underground complex near this health facility.
On Saturday, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) issued drone footage purporting to show that weapons caches, command and control rooms, and intelligence infrastructure used by senior Hamas leaders were present beneath European Hospital in Hebron. Middleeastmonitor.com +15
JPost.com +15
and M.economictimes +15 have all reported on these claims from IDF drone footage.
IDF claims the tunnels were discovered during a joint operation involving Golani Brigade, Yahalom engineering units and Special Forces; see: www.wikipedia.org for further reading; JPost for coverage as well as Moneycontrol for analysis.
Gaza Authorities Reject Israeli Claims
In response to Israeli claims that there is a resistance tunnel directly underneath European Hospital, Gaza Government Media Office quickly dismissed these as false – both on Wikipedia (en.wikipedia) and aljazeera.com +15 (aljazeera) + middleeastmonitor (m)
Gaza officials claim the footage actually depicts tunnels located near a school near a hospital, confirming previous Palestinian and independent media investigations – further underscoring Israel’s actions as being misleading justification for airstrikes on medical facilities which caused extensive civilian casualties (sources: middleeastmonitor.com and aa.com.tr, respectively). They denounced Israel for this action which they see as instigating airstrikes with deadly airstrikes causing extensive civilian deaths (sources: middleeastmonitor.com +14) +14).
Context and Broader Tensions
This dispute stems from an Israeli attack on a hospital on May 13 that resulted in at least 28 casualties and wounded dozens more, with Israeli authorities justifying the strike by citing Mohammed Sinwar–a senior Hamas commander–being removed as justification (sources: Wikipedia/aa.com.tr, for example). The number one source on Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org), among many others is here, while Aa.com offers translation.
Palestinian officials charged that Israel targeted a hospital first, then attempted to justify it post-factum by misattributing nearby tunnels as the cause. These allegations can be found on various media websites like Ndtv.com and MiddleEastmonitor.com but not Wikipedia (this source doesn’t list tunnels).
This scenario recalls the earlier controversy surrounding Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, where Israeli claims of similar tunnels were widely contested due to weak evidence. Independent fact checkers from The Washington Post, Amnesty International and other outlets raised serious doubts as to their validity; as reported by independent fact-checkers such as The Washington Post, Amnesty International, and others (such as those found by The Washington Post or Amnesty International) who conducted independent fact checks of such assertions ( en.wikipedia.org +3).
Independent Analysis Casts Doubt on Alleged Tunnel at Hospital
Analysts reported to Haaretz and other media this weekend that an alleged tunnel may actually lie under a school adjacent to the hospital–not the medical complex itself, according to Haaretz and other outlets. (Sources include MiddleEastMonitor.com +7, Aa.com.tr and Wikipedia +7).
Independent examination of aerial imagery indicates tunnel entrances and associated structures are located outside the hospital perimeter, casting doubt upon claims a command center was hidden beneath wards or neonatal units.
Implications for Medical Facilities
Conflating adjacent structures with hospitals risks undermining protections afforded medical facilities under international law. Human Rights Watch and the UN have both underscored this principle; hospitals receive special protection unless there is unmistakable evidence they are being used for military operations; Gaza authorities highlighted how fabrication of intelligence creates danger to civilian trust as well as threaten life-saving access to health services.
What to Watch
Evidence Verification: Will independent investigations back Israel’s claims or favor Gaza officials regarding the exact location of the tunnel?
Legal and Military Consequences: Could false claims lead to legal challenges or embolden further attacks against protected medical infrastructure?
Under increasing scrutiny from international health and rights organizations, Israel could face diplomatic or legal consequences for misrepresenting civilian spaces as military bases.
An individual tunnel has the power to change lives–but only if its existence and location can be clearly established. In an already contentious conflict, this factual clarification must come quickly in order to protect civilian rights and healthcare access as casualties of war.