Investigations by the IDF and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) reveal that Hamas is using Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis as a staging ground for the interrogation and torture of locals in the Gaza Strip. The Jerusalem Post reports that the hospital’s outpatient center on the second floor is where the alleged extortion is taking place.
“Hamas is afraid of losing control of the Strip, and is therefore using hospitals, schools, and other civilian facilities for its own needs and attacking them in spaces intended to serve them,” the military added.
The IDF also remarked on the different roles that the hospital has been given since the beginning of the war, with it serving as administrative offices, then as a cafeteria, later converted into a house of prayer, and now serving as a Hamas interrogation center.
Back in February, the military said that the hospital, which had been operated by Doctors Without Borders until they were expelled from Gaza, served both as a weapons storage spot for terror and full-fledged Hamas headquarters.
In addition to recent strikes against Hamas this week, the IDF launched a strike on the Abu al-Duhur airbase in Syria after a Turkish military delegation reportedly visited the country to discuss plans for deploying troops to Damascus. Turkey has denied that any such visit took place, while Syria says that it did, though it has also denied that there are plans for a troop deployment.
The base was largely empty at the time of the strikes, and no injuries or deaths were reported. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials have said that a Turkish military buildup in Syria would violate the previous status quo and pose concerns for Israel’s national security.
The Fellowship and our supporters continue to pray for an end to Hamas’ reign of terror and its hold on Gaza so that the people of Gaza may one day walk the streets without fear. We also continue to pray for the security of the Holy Land during this time.