Israel's bombing of Shifa Hospital led to the death and injury of dozens, destruction of facilities and suspension of service (social media)
An investigation by the Washington Post revealed that Israel's evidence fell short of showing that Hamas used Shifa Hospital as a command and control center.
The investigation added that none of the five buildings in the Shifa Medical Complex identified by the Israeli military were connected to the tunnel network. He also stressed that there is no evidence that the tunnels can enter from inside the corridors of the Shifa complex.
The Washington Post explained that its detailed investigation was based on an analysis of open-source videos, satellite imagery and all material released by the Israeli military, and stated that legal experts and rights activists confirmed that the results of this investigation raise critical questions about the bombing of the Shifa Medical Complex.
President Joe Biden's administration has declassified the U.S. intelligence assessment that supported Israel's claims, the newspaper said, quoting a senior U.S. official as saying they were confident in the intelligence that Hamas was using the hospital as a command and control center.
"Guides"
But the U.S. government has not released any of the declassified material, nor has any officials shared the intelligence on which the assessment was based.
It quoted an IDF spokesperson as saying that the army had published "irrefutable" evidence indicating Hamas's use of the Shifa compound for military purposes, but assured the newspaper that they could not provide further evidence.
A senior congressman told the Washington Post that he was initially convinced by Israel's claims that Hamas used the Shifa Medical Complex as a control center, but now he doubts it, and stresses that Israel should have more evidence about this.
The U.S. ally bombed the compound, which houses hundreds of patients and thousands of displaced people, in an unprecedented manner, causing the hospital to collapse and stop serving as fuel ran out, and ambulances were unable to collect the wounded from the streets.
A dangerous precedent
A mass grave was dug inside the compound to bury some 180 people, including premature babies who died as a result of Israeli shelling.
Jeffrey Korn, a law professor at Texas Tech University, said, "If you don't eventually find what you said you would, that justifies doubts about whether your assessment of the military value in conducting the operation was legitimate."
Experts also warned of the precedent that the targeting of Al-Shifa Medical Complex would form.
Brian Finucane, a former legal adviser at the U.S. State Department who is now a senior adviser in the crisis group, said the search for pretexts to target the hospital would set a precedent for future operations against hospitals during wars.
He stressed that there should be no assumption that hospitals are generally targetable based on what Israel has put forward regarding the Shifa complex.
Source: Washington Post