The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) entered the Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, in southern Gaza, on Thursday in a “precise and limited operation” seeking Hamas terrorists hiding there, as well as the bodies of Israeli hostages that may have been held there.
IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari noted that Israel had acted on credible intelligence about the presence of terrorists and the bodies of hostages, and that it was ensuring that “essential functions continue uninterrupted” at the hospital.
We have credible intelligence that Hamas held hostages in Nasser Hospital.
“Since the Hamas massacre of October 7, the IDF has been operating to fulfill its mission of dismantling Hamas and bringing our hostages home.” pic.twitter.com/5gzcbH6Vzc
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) February 15, 2024
The IDF provided a transcript of Hagari’s statement (emphasis removed):
Since the Hamas massacre of October 7th, the IDF has been operating to fulfill its mission of dismantling Hamas and bringing our hostages home.
We operate against Hamas terrorists wherever they are hiding. And, as we proved with the successful rescue missions of our hostages, we are committed to our mission of bringing our hostages home.
Sadly, we know that some hostages are no longer alive. We are committed to finding and returning the bodies of those hostages in Gaza.
We conduct precise rescue operations — as we have in the past — where our intelligence indicates that the bodies of hostages may be held.
We have credible intelligence from a number of sources, including from released hostages, indicating that Hamas held hostages at the Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis and that there may be bodies of our hostages in the Nasser hospital facility.
As was proven with the Shifa Hospital; Rantisi Hospital; Al Amal Hospital; and many other hospitals across Gaza, Hamas systematically uses hospitals as terror hubs.
According to intelligence assessments and information we gathered on the ground, over 85% of major medical facilities in Gaza have been used by Hamas for terror operations.
Because Hamas terrorists are likely hiding behind injured civilians inside Nasser hospital right now and appear to have used the hospital to hide our hostages there too, the IDF is conducting a precise and limited operation inside Nasser hospital.
This sensitive operation was prepared with precision and is being conducted by IDF special forces who underwent specified training.
A key objective as defined by our military mission is to ensure that the Nasser hospital continues its important function of treating Gazan patients. We communicated this in a number of conversations we had with the hospital staff over the last few days. We emphasized that there is no obligation for patients or staff to evacuate the hospital. However, we have been urging other Gazans, in Arabic, on the phone and via loudspeakers, to move away from the danger that Hamas puts them in — via a humanitarian corridor we opened for this purpose. For the purpose of protecting uninvolved civilians in Gaza.
We coordinated the transfer of medical supplies and equipment to Nasser hospital. We sent oxygen tanks and fuel for electricity at the request of the hospital to ensure its essential functions continue uninterrupted. This was done in coordination with international organizations.
We have doctors and Arabic-speaking IDF officers on the ground to communicate to the staff and patients inside the Nasser hospital.
Our message to them is clear: We seek no harm to innocent civilians. We seek to find our hostages and bring them home. We seek to hunt down Hamas terrorists wherever they may be hiding.
Later, the IDF said it had arrested a number of suspects in the hospital.
As Breitbart News has reported, the IDF has found shocking evidence of Hamas’s use of hospitals, in violation of international law, including: moving hostages through hospitals; storing hostages’ bodies near hospitals; imprisoning hostages in hospitals; hiding terrorists in hospitals; using hospital ambulances to transport terrorists; launching terror attacks from hospitals; and storing weapons in hospitals, even inside neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) equipment.
There are approximately 130 hostages remaining in Hamas custody in Gaza, several dozen of whom are thought to be dead.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent book, “The Zionist Conspiracy (and how to join it),” now available on Audible. He is also the author of the e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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