Tel Aviv: Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak said bunkers underneath Shifa Hospital in Gaza had been built by Israeli engineers decades ago and were later used by Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have targeted Gaza’s biggest medical facility which it said was the site of a Hamas command center, a charge denied by the group.
Following the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7 in which 1200 people were killed and an estimated 240 taken hostage, Israel’s bombardment of Gaza has killed at least 12,700 people, according to the Associated Press, with Shifa’s plight of particular concern globally for humanitarian reasons.
On Sunday, the IDF and Israel’s Shin Bet security agency released footage it said showed the site was a Hamas command center, with a clip of a tunnel shaft and a winding staircase which descends for 20 feet until it reaches a tunnel.
Amid widespread condemnation about Israel’s targeting of the hospital, CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour asked Barak if the IDF and the Israeli government had done a “good enough job of proving their claim” that there was a “major” Hamas command center and bunker under Shifa.
Barak replied “It’s already been known for many years that they have a bunker that originally was built by Israeli constructors underneath Shifa,” which was used as a “command post” for Hamas and as a “junction of several tunnels.”
“I don’t know to say to what extent it is a ‘major.’ It’s probably not the only…command post. Several others are under hospitals or in other sensitive places.”
“But it for sure has been used by Hamas even during this conflict,” he added.
“When you say it was built by Israeli engineers, did you misspeak?” asked Amanpour.
Barak, who was Israel’s prime minister from 1999 to 2001, responded, “decades ago, we were running the place, so we helped them.” The Gaza Strip has been controlled by Hamas since 2007.
“It was many decades ago…that we helped them build these bunkers in order to enable more space for the operation of the hospital within the very limited size of these compounds.
“Following a pause, Amanpour seemed surprised and struggled to find her next words. “That’s sort of thrown me a little bit.”
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