The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday revealed that troops operating in southern Gaza City discovered an extensive Hamas tunnel system built directly beneath and adjacent to hospitals—another stark example of the terror group’s continued use of civilians as human shields.
According to the military, soldiers from the IDF’s 36th Division, in coordination with the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), uncovered a tunnel shaft next to the Jordanian Hospital complex that led to a large underground weapons workshop. The discovery was made during a targeted operation guided by intelligence from the IDF’s Intelligence Directorate and executed with support from the elite Yahalom combat engineering unit.
The tunnel, roughly 1.5 kilometers long, forms part of what intelligence officials identified as a Hamas military outpost used by platoon and company commanders. The subterranean complex included manufacturing rooms, meeting spaces, and senior officers’ quarters—an indication that Hamas’s command structure was deliberately embedded within civilian infrastructure.
During the same operation, troops also located another tunnel shaft beneath Hamad Hospital in Gaza City.
“The Hamas terrorist organization operates systematically within hospital complexes, exploiting humanitarian facilities for military purposes,” the IDF said in a statement. “For years, Hamas has built an underground system beneath hospitals across the Gaza Strip, used to manufacture weapons and conduct combat operations.”
The military emphasized that the Jordanian medical staff working at the hospital had no involvement or knowledge of the terror activity occurring below them.
Israel has long accused Hamas of using hospitals, schools, mosques, and other civilian buildings as cover for military infrastructure—a practice that constitutes a serious violation of international law under the Geneva Conventions. The discovery of tunnels beneath medical facilities reinforces what Israeli officials describe as a deliberate strategy to endanger civilians and obstruct humanitarian efforts.
IDF forces remain in the area, mapping the tunnel system and expanding searches to additional sites where intelligence indicates Hamas presence.
“Once again, we are seeing how Hamas cynically transforms spaces meant for healing and humanitarian relief into centers of terror,” an Israeli security source said. “This is not just a moral crime—it’s a war crime. Every time Hamas embeds its forces under hospitals or schools, it endangers the very civilians it claims to defend.”
The IDF reiterated that it continues to take steps to protect civilians, including issuing evacuation calls and establishing humanitarian zones in southern Gaza.
Sunday’s discovery adds to a growing body of evidence showing that Hamas’s underground network runs directly beneath vital civilian sites—further exposing its pattern of weaponizing human suffering for tactical gain.
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