The Israeli occupation army continues to publish its allegations and stories regarding the existence of tunnels dug by the Palestinian resistance under hospitals in the Gaza Strip to justify targeting them, the latest of which was Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Hospital for Rehabilitation and Prosthetics.

On the fifth of this month, the Israeli army published a briefing by its spokesman, Daniel Hagar, in which he claimed that the Israeli occupation soldiers discovered during their ground operation in the northern Gaza Strip a tunnel used by Hamas in the garden of Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Hospital for Rehabilitation and Prosthetics, which was funded by the Qatari government.

Afkhai Adraee also posted the video on his X account and commented on it:

"We expose Hamas's absurd use of the Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani Hospital in Gaza City, the construction of which was funded by the Qatari government. Our soldiers have uncovered an underground structure inside the medical compound. We also reveal that Hamas terrorists opened fire at our forces from inside the hospital!"

The video showed ground openings in the hospital garden, which the IDF claimed were a Hamas tunnel.

A picture broadcast by the occupation of Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani Hospital for Prosthetics and Rehabilitation in northern Gaza
(social media)

Indeed, the video began to spread on Arab social media platforms, where it provoked a state of ridicule among the pioneers of the virtual world of the Israeli army about the ease of the tunnel, at a time when the Palestinian resistance factions are keen to hide their tunnels completely and without leaving any signs or signs indicating them, according to the comments.

By following up some of the comments monitored by Al Jazeera Net about the origin of the openings shown by the video, and during the search process it was found that the hospital was established in 2016, and the implementation of the company Sakka and Khudari, which was documenting the construction process of the project through its accounts, and in 2014 published aerial footage of the project showing the rooms of the water tank during the construction process.

Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani Hospital for Prosthetics and Rehabilitation in North Gaza - Sakka & Khudari
Company (social media)

The master plan of the hospital also showed the presence of a concrete water tank and openings in the hospital garden.

Water Tank Opening at Sheikh Hamad Hospital (Social Platforms)

A wider search through the hospital's social media accounts revealed that the openings were found in most of the photos the hospital took of its patients in its garden and on different dates.

Sheikh Hamad Hospital for Rehabilitation and Prosthetics – Gaza (Social Media)

To explain why there are such openings in the garden of Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Hospital in Gaza, Al Jazeera contacted civil engineer Saad Al-Wahidi, who was part of the team working on the hospital project.

I asked him why these openings are in the vicinity of the hospital and what they use, and he replied that these openings are an upper nozzle for an underground concrete tank dedicated to filling water, and the side pipe is for ventilation and is used to exit air from the tank during its filling.

Al-Wahidi added that the reservoir is located on the eastern side of the hospital, and is allocated as a reserve balance for the hospital's water and for irrigating its garden as well.


The pioneers of social media platforms described the Israeli army's narrative as false, and added that the occupation army spreads lies to justify its bombing and targeting of hospitals, and others wondered about the Israeli army's failure to publish pictures of the tunnel entrances, according to some comments monitored by Al Jazeera Net.

Israel did not find a deterrent or objection to the bombing of hospitals in Gaza, at any time will be bombed Shifa Hospital and His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Hospital, and the justification is known the use of those hospitals by the resistance or under tunnels

— Abu Ayyash (@aliAyyash86) November 5, 2023

This is what was announced today by the spokesman for the Cartoon Army. A tunnel for #حماس was found in Sheikh Hamad Hospital. Why didn't you photograph the tunnel from the inside to prove your lies? And tomorrow we will see international newspapers adopting their lies to justify bombing hospitals
. Their claim that it is a tunnel that appears to be a hole that existed from the past and is used for a service purpose in the hospital#غزة_الآن pic.twitter.com/xiLGZAwRzC

— ALAA (@alaa_qt) November 5, 2023

On the other hand, the Chairman of the Qatari Committee for the Reconstruction of Gaza, Ambassador Mohammed Al-Emadi, expressed the State of Qatar's strong condemnation of the Israeli occupation army's allegations that there are tunnels under Sheikh Hamad Hospital for Prosthetics in Gaza without concrete evidence or independent investigation.

He considered it a blatant attempt to justify the occupation targeting civilian objects, including hospitals, schools, population gatherings and shelters for the displaced.

Al-Emadi confirmed – in a statement to the Qatar News Agency "QNA" – that Sheikh Hamad Hospital in Gaza was established transparently in accordance with the highest international standards under the supervision of the Qatari Committee for the Reconstruction of Gaza with Israeli approval, for medical purposes and benefited thousands of people in Gaza.

He stressed that such allegations should not be made arbitrarily, calling for the Israeli narrative not to be taken as a reality without an independent investigation into the allegations they constitute, while warning against using them as a pretext to target civilian facilities.