Israel’s UN ambassador calls for WHO leader to condemn Hamas

Israeli Permanent Representative to the UN Meirav Eilon Shahar on Wednesday said she had provided the World Health Organization with details of allegations that Hamas stored weapons at Gaza’s largest hospital. She said Israeli soldiers also found terrorists hiding in the hospital.

What evidence did she have? She said she sent a letter on Tuesday to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus saying Israeli soldiers had found weapons stored by Hamas in Gaza’s Al Shifa hospital. She said those weapons were found in several locations, including the cardiology ward, the MRI building, and underground rooms of the hospital. She said the weapons included “grenades and mortar shells.” She called on the WHO director-general to condemn Hamas for using civilian infrastructure to shelter their militants and weapons.

What does the situation look like on the ground at the hospital? Israel Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari on Wednesday spoke in a video posted to social media that showed him in front of the Al Shifa hospital, where operations were “ongoing.” Hagari said that Israeli forces had arrested more than 250 terrorists. He added that they were questioning roughly 350 other people possibly connected to terrorist activities. He said no hospital staff had been injured during Israeli operations.

The U.S. State Department last week said that Hamas was using Palestinian civilians as human shields. The White House has also acknowledged that Hamas has used civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, to hide its operations.

Dig deeper: Listen to Cal Thomas’ commentary on The World and Everything in It podcast about how Israel’s war in Gaza is a battle for its own survival.