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Shin Bet Interrogation of Jabaliya Medical Director Reveals Hamas Exploited Hospitals for Terror Activities
Edited by: Fern Sidman
In a shocking revelation, Ahmad al-Kagalott, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Jabaliya, located in the northern Gaza Strip, confessed to his involvement with Hamas and detailed how the terror organization has transformed the medical center into a military base, as was reported by YNet News. The footage, released by the Shin Bet security agency on Tuesday, provides a rare glimpse into the extent of Hamas’s exploitation of hospitals for its military operations.
🚨 Breaking: Director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza admits he is a Senior Hamas commander (Brigadier General) and explains how Hamas made the Hospital into a terror base.@antonioguterres, @DrTedros, you there?
pic.twitter.com/QJu97EPhci— Dr. Eli David (@DrEliDavid) December 19, 2023
Ahmad Kahalot, who held the rank of brigadier general within Hamas since 2010, revealed that approximately 16 hospital employees were military operatives in Izz ad-Din al-Qassam. This group included doctors, nurses, paramedics, clerks, and crew members. The YNetNews.com report also said that the director disclosed that Hamas not only uses hospitals for sheltering its operatives but also employs various tactics to maintain secrecy and continue its military activities.
According to Kahalot’s confession, Hamas hides operatives within hospitals, manipulates staff movements, and even utilized the medical facility to bring a kidnapped soldier, according to the YNetNews.com report. The terror organization believes hospitals provide a safe haven where its members are shielded from harm. As was noted in the Ynetnews.com report, offices within hospitals are designated for senior Hamas members, including specific areas for interrogations, internal security, and special security, each equipped with private phone lines.
“They hide in the hospitals because they believe that a hospital is a safe place, that they won’t be harmed while they are inside a hospital,” Kahalot said, the Ynet report said.
“Hamas has offices within the hospitals. There are designated areas for senior members, where they brought an abducted soldier. There is a specific place for interrogations, internal security and special security. Each of them has private phone lines within the hospital.”
Kahalot recounted how he requested Hamas operatives to transfer an injured person to other hospitals for treatment, but they refused, according to the Ynetnews.com report. “I pleaded with them to take the injured to the Indonesian hospital, to Al-Shifa, for treatment, but they refused. Their mission was more important.”
Hamas has gone to great lengths to conceal its activities, including the use of unlicensed private ambulances with a different color. These ambulances, according to Kahalot, were employed to transport a kidnapped soldier and move bodies. Their operation involved coming and going without picking up injured individuals, emphasizing the organization’s commitment to its missions over humanitarian considerations.
“They used it to bring the kidnapped soldier and to transport bodies. It comes and goes without picking up injured,” he admitted.
Kahalot did not spare criticism for Hamas leaders in his Shin Bet interrogation, labeling them as “cowards” who remained in hiding while others faced the consequences on the ground. The report added that he accused the leadership of abandoning their operatives and negatively impacting those involved in their schemes.
This revelation comes on the heels of a previous disclosure by the IDF and Shin Bet, where a Hamas operative admitted to using ambulances to move around Gaza. As was indicated in the Ynetnews.com report, intercepted phone calls revealed a Hamas member boasting about the ease with which he could utilize any ambulance for transportation, adding another layer to the organization’s exploitation of humanitarian facilities for its clandestine activities.
“I can leave with any ambulance I want,” the terrorist is heard saying to a fellow Gazan he was talking to, Ynetnews.com reported. The recording comes after Israel took responsibility for a strike on an ambulance in Gaza it claimed was transporting Hamas terrorists.
Newly released quotes from Shin Bet interrogations shed light on the tactics employed by Hamas terrorists, particularly members of the elite Nukhba force, during the massacre in Israeli border towns on October 7. The revelations underscore the alarming extent to which Hamas exploits ambulances, hospitals, schools, clinics, mosques, and other civilian structures for military activities in the Palestinian enclave.
“Al-Qassam Brigades have their own ambulances, some of which are located on the military base. The appearance of the ambulances is similar to the civilian ambulances so that they will not arouse suspicion or be bombed by Israel,” said one of the terrorists in his interrogation, referring to Hamas’s military wing, as was reported by Ynetnews.com.
Another terrorist argued that “the Jews don’t hit ambulances” while a third terrorist said that “During combat, the ambulances are used, among other things, to evacuate fighters – commanders and operatives. They also transport food, cargo and weapons in them because that is the safest way to transport them.”
Ynetnews.com also reported that the quotes reveal that Hamas’s military wing, Al-Qassam Brigades, maintains its own fleet of ambulances, strategically positioning some on military bases. The ambulances are intentionally designed to resemble civilian ones, aiming to avoid suspicion and potential bombings by Israeli forces.
Terrorists admitted to the multifaceted use of ambulances in their operations. In addition to evacuating fighters, including commanders and operatives, ambulances were utilized for transporting food, cargo, and weapons. As per the report on the Ynetnews.com web site, the perceived safety of ambulances made them a preferred mode of transportation for critical supplies during hostilities.
Senior Hamas political and military officials, including the group’s leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, were reported to be “hiding in hospitals, especially the Shifa Hospital,” according to the Ynetnew.com report. Exploiting the protective status of hospitals, these officials sought refuge to avoid being targeted in airstrikes. This tactic highlights the deliberate blending of civilian infrastructure with military activities to shield key figures from potential harm.
The quotes also suggest that Hamas employs various civilian structures for military purposes. Weapons and ammunition are allegedly stored under schools, placing these educational institutions at risk. Additionally, numerous locations in the Gaza Strip are said to be rigged, with cables leading to operating systems hidden in civilian mosques and clinics, Ynetnews.com reported. This strategy not only endangers civilians but also complicates military operations by utilizing seemingly innocuous locations for nefarious purposes.
This information reinforces the challenges faced by security forces in distinguishing between civilian and military targets in the densely populated Gaza Strip. The IDF and Shin Bet continue to emphasize the need for counterterrorism measures to address these tactics effectively.
The revelations from Shin Bet interrogations provide a glimpse into the complex and concerning strategies employed by Hamas during military operations. The deliberate blending of military activities with civilian infrastructure raises ethical and humanitarian concerns while posing challenges for counterterrorism efforts.
