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It is not just a brutal war currently raging in the Middle East between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. It is also a global information war here.

This was demonstrated again at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, the largest clinic in the entire Gaza Strip. It has become a symbol of Israel’s dilemma. And for everything that makes this war so difficult and so complex.

Because Hamas uses schools and hospitals for protection. Israel came under heavy criticism for attacking the terrorist group “without regard to civilian casualties,” even in close proximity to a medical facility. As for the hospital, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) has claimed that the hospital, or at least a ‘Hamas command center’, is hidden beneath the clinic.

The IDF now controls the northern part of the Gaza Strip – and has invited journalists to see Hamas structures for themselves. There was also a German reporter on site.

Israel leads journalists through Gaza – reporter describes destruction

To reinforce Israel’s story, the army led journalists through the Gaza Strip this week. Holger Stark, reporter for ‘Zeit’, describes how he and other colleagues drove from Israel to the Gaza Strip shortly after sunrise. He makes it clear: “The battlefield area is narrow, the time is short and the landscape was chosen by the Israeli army. It’s a snapshot, nothing more.”

Nevertheless, the approximately six hours provided an impression of the situation in the Gaza Strip. He describes a picture of destruction: Steel beams protruding from the ground, battered and upside-down cars, abandoned ruins and burnt-out facades.

The northern part of the Gaza Strip is now under the control of Israeli forces. The ground is currently literally being dug up for booby traps and mines, as journalists continue to describe. Shots are also heard again and again. Because from time to time, Hamas fighters appear out of nowhere, as the Israeli army says.

IDF leads journalists to the grounds of the Shifa clinic

Soldiers showed journalists, among other things, Hamas’ underground tunnel system. The Jerusalem Post, for example, reports that one of the reporters was at the scene. He saw not only numerous weapons at the Shifa site, but also “advanced intelligence platforms.”

One of the tunnels featured “sophisticated chambers” and an “explosion-proof door.” In addition to the infrastructure, the reporter also saw a bedroom, a kitchen and a bathroom.

The “Zeit” reporter Stark reports something similar. He describes how the Israelis spread a blanket of countless weapons in the heart of Gaza City and on the clinic grounds: with drones, hand grenades and submachine guns.

According to him, slippers and a shoulder bag belonging to an Israeli family were also present, apparently from one of the attacked kibbutzim. According to Israel, this is evidence that Hamas had, at least temporarily, hidden several hostages in the clinic.

Journalist describes structures beneath Shifa Hospital

After Israel invaded Gaza City and took control of the area around the clinic, many people wondered where the alleged command center was. The reporter from “Zeit” now reports how Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari presented the structures. So he pointed happily at a hole in the ground. He then asked the journalists to follow him. The reporter describes the hole as follows:

According to the descriptions, behind a door underground there is a relaxation room with two cots and air conditioning, which is connected to the ground floor of the clinic. There will also be a private toilet and a small kitchenette underground. One corridor leads to the street, one corridor to the clinic. There is a wall there that the Israeli army had not yet opened for fear of booby traps.

The Israeli military had previously released video footage of the tunnel system under the clinic complex. The army showed images of two different devices that were supposed to show the inside of the tunnel. One of the photos shows a tunnel ending at an “explosion-proof door,” as the Israeli military explained.

According to Hagari, after Hamas’ brutal attack in Israel, 200 terrorists hid under the structures of Shifa Hospital. The accuracy of the information cannot be independently verified.