Footage contradicts Israeli claim of Hamas base under Gaza hospital

By Aysu Bicer

LONDON (AA)— Israeli strikes on a hospital in Gaza have come under widespread scrutiny after Sky News reported evidence Thursday contradicting Israel’s claims that it was targeting a Hamas base.

This week, Israel attacked two of the territory's largest functioning hospitals, including the European Hospital near Khan Younis.

CCTV footage verified by Sky News on Thursday captures the moment of the strike on the European Hospital on Tuesday. Additional video taken from outside the hospital shows plumes of smoke rising from the compound.

At least 16 people were killed in the attack, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

Israel claimed that its forces were targeting a Hamas "command and control center" allegedly located beneath the hospital.

The Israeli army released aerial surveillance footage highlighting a building it labeled the European Hospital, and dark markings claimed to be "underground terrorist infrastructure site revealed following the strike."

However, Sky News confirmed that the building shown in the footage is not the European Hospital but the adjacent Jenin Secondary School for Boys.

Furthermore, the video does not show clear signs of damage, and an eyewitness told Sky News there had been no destruction in the school’s courtyard.

An Israeli army spokesperson told Sky News that the footage shows an area outside the hospital grounds.

The spokesperson insisted the “underground infrastructure” extended beneath the hospital but did not provide evidence to support the claim.

The Israeli army also did not respond to the analysis that the markings shown in the footage were caused by water drainage rather than tunnels.

Since October 2023, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive in Gaza, killing nearly 53,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.