Gaza Hospital director admits Hamas uses hospitals as military facilities

Tel Aviv [Israel], December 19 : Ahmad Kahalot, Director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, has admitted that Hamas has turned hospitals into military facilities under its control. During the Israel Security Agency (ISA) interrogation, Ahmad Kahalot revealed how Hamas uses hospitals for military purposes, including hiding its operatives, conducting military activity and moving Hamas members.
Ahmad Kahalot said Hamas even brought a captured soldier to the hospital, Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release. Israel Defence Forces (IDF) and ISA apprehended Kahalot at the Kamal Adwan Hospital on December 12. Kahalot said he has been part of Hamas since 2010.
He said, "I was recruited to Hamas in 2010 with the rank of Brigadier General. There are employees in the hospital who are military operatives of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades - doctors, nurses, paramedics, clerks, and staff members," according to Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs press release.
According to Kahalot, Hamas members hide in hospitals as they consider it as a safe place. He revealed that 16 employees in the hospital, including doctor, nurse, clerks, paramedic hold different positions in al-Qassam, the military wing of terrorist organisation, The Times of Israel reported.
Kahalot said, "They hide in hospitals because for them a hospital is a safe place. They won't be targeted when they are inside a hospital."
He further said, "I know 16 employees in the hospital - doctor, nurse, paramedic, or clerks... who also have different positions in al-Qassam".
He revealed that there are officers where the Hamas leader and two of the senior officials were present. He further said that the kidnapped soldier was also brought to the hospital and kept there.
"There are offices where the Hamas leader and two of the senior officials were. There's a place where the soldier was in (the kidnapped soldier). There's a place for the interrogators, internal security, and special security. All of them have private telephone lines inside the hospital," he said.
Ahmad Kahalot said Hamas has a private ambulance. According to Kahalot, Hamas used ambulances to move kidnapped soldiers and transport bodies. He revealed that Hamas did not assist in transporting the injured to Shifa Hospital, according to Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs press release.
During the ISA interrogation, he said, "They [Hamas] have a private ambulance, even it color and the way it's painted are different, and it doesn't have a license plate. They used it to transport the soldier [kidnapped] and transport bodies... It didn't assist us with transporting the injured."
Kahalot noted, "I begged him to take someone to the Indonesian Hospital, take to Shifa [hospital], but he would refused. His mission is more important." He called leaders of Hamas "cowards and added, "They left us in the field while they hide in secret places... They have destroyed us."
On Sunday, a massive tunnel system was discovered by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), which the IDF claimed to be Hamas' biggest tunnel system, the construction of which was led by Mohammad Sinwar, brother of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
It is pertinent to note that the tunnel has a length of over four kilometers (2.5 miles), and is located only 400 meters from the Erez Crossing, said the IDF.
In a post on X, IDF also said that Gazans used the giant tunnel on a daily basis to enter Israel for work and medical treatment in Israeli hospitals.
"EXPOSED: The biggest Hamas terrorist tunnel discovered. This massive tunnel system branches out and spans well over four kilometers (2.5 miles). Its entrance is located only 400 meters (1,310 feet) from the Erez Crossing--used by Gazans on a daily basis to enter Israel for work and medical treatment in Israeli hospitals," read IDF's post on X.
"This tunnel system was a project led by Mohammad Sinwar, the brother of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, and the commander of Hamas' Khan Yunis Battalion," it added.
The conflict in Gaza escalated after the October 7 attack by Hamas, where about 2,500 terrorists breached the border into Israel from the Gaza Strip, leading to casualties and the seizure of hostages.