The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) released two documents on Friday that are intended to reveal new details about the systematic use of hospitals in the Gaza Strip by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The documents date from 2019 and 2020 and were seized by Israeli soldiers during their operations in the Gaza Strip.
The documents were published by the military in both the original Arabic and in English translation. They describe, among other things, the use of medical facilities for interrogations, the establishment of military command centers, and the positioning of weapons near hospitals.
Hospitals as sites for interrogations
The first document dates from 2019 and was written, according to the IDF, by the deputy commander of the Hamas brigade in Khan Yunis. It contains instructions on how to handle suspects who were to be arrested and interrogated by Hamas.
The Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, a Palestinian Red Crescent hospital, and the European Hospital in the southern Gaza Strip are explicitly named as possible interrogation sites. The document also identifies three individuals who were allegedly responsible for conducting the interrogations.
The documents show, according to the Israeli military, that Hamas’s use of medical facilities was already part of its security structures years before the massacre of October 7, 2023.
Islamic Jihad established command center in hospital
The second document from 2020 deals with the activities of Palestinian Islamic Jihad in several hospitals. According to the IDF, it was found in a vehicle loaded with equipment near the Shifa Hospital.
It describes how Islamic Jihad terrorists used facilities at the Shifa, Al-Rantisi, and Kamal Adwan hospitals for military purposes. This includes, among other things, the positioning of mortar shells near the hospitals, the documentation of rocket launches, and the takeover of office spaces.
This is particularly evident in the case of Al-Rantisi Hospital in Gaza City. There, commanders and members of the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad, allegedly forcibly seized the upper floor and established a command center.
Notably, the document does not criticize these activities primarily because of their military nature, but mainly due to a lack of coordination with the relevant authorities. The authors apparently feared that Islamic Jihad’s actions could endanger the security of the medical facilities.
Internal warning about Israeli strikes
Particularly revealing are the warnings in the document about the possible consequences of the military use of hospitals.
The document explicitly expresses concern that Islamic Jihad’s activities could provide Israel with a pretext to attack Ministry of Health facilities.
It also warns that approving such activities could prompt other armed organizations to make similar demands. This would endanger hospitals and medical facilities and lead to a loss of discipline.
The documents thus demonstrate, according to the IDF’s account, that the risks of the military use of hospitals were known even within Palestinian structures.
New findings on Nasser Hospital
The release comes directly after further statements by the Israeli military regarding Hamas’s use of Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis.
On Thursday, the IDF and Israel’s domestic intelligence agency Shin Bet confirmed an airstrike targeting terrorists on the hospital grounds. Among the targets was senior Hamas commander Muhammad Abu Ismail, who, according to Israeli intelligence, was involved in holding several Israeli hostages captive.
‼️🏥 Hamas’ exploitation of the Nasser Hospital: The hospital’s second floor serves as a Hamas military HQ, where civilians are not permitted to enter, as it is used by Hamas commanders, including Muhammad Abu Ismail, the Khan Yunis Brigade Commander who was targeted in the strike earlier today.
Dozens of hostages were held captive at the Nasser Hospital, and Muhammad Abu Ismail was responsible for holding numerous of them, including: Nimrod Cohen, Matan Zangauker, Edan Alexander, Avera Mengistu, Colonel Asaf Hamami, Staff Sergeant Oz Daniel & Captain Omer Neutra.
The strike was specifically directed at the room from which the brigade commander & the other terrorist were conducting military activities. Prior to the strike, the IDF warned on several occasions that the military activity at the hospital be halted. Despite these warnings, the activity at the hospital did not cease.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) November 12, 2026
On Friday, the military also announced that Hamas had held dozens of hostages at Nasser Hospital during the war, including women, children, elderly people, and foreign nationals. The hospital had simultaneously been used as a heavily guarded military headquarters.
The Israeli military stated that it possesses additional evidence of terrorist activities in medical facilities in the Gaza Strip. Hamas’s use of Nasser Hospital had begun before October 7, 2023, and continued, according to the IDF, into recent weeks.
The now-published documents supplement the existing findings of Israeli security forces regarding the misuse of civilian infrastructure by terrorist organizations. They show, according to the military’s account, that hospitals were incorporated into the military structures of Hamas and Islamic Jihad not only during the war, but already years beforehand.
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