Israel army in war of words with Hamas over hospitals

AFP | Tel Aviv, Israel

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

The Israeli army accused Hamas yesterday of abusing hospitals in the Gaza Strip for military purposes, as war rages in and around the Palestinian territory.

The allegation was swiftly denied by Hamas, and the main United Nations agency working in Gaza said earlier it had mechanisms in place to prevent aid being diverted.

"Hamas wages war from hospitals" in Gaza, military spokesman Daniel Hagari told journalists, adding that the Islamist group was also using fuel stored in hospitals to help carry out its operations.

Hagari specifically identified Al-Shifa hospital, the largest in Gaza, as one from which Hamas militants were operating.

Hagari said Hamas had relied on hospitals to maintain its war effort, charging that the group had used hospitals "as command and control centres and hideouts".

A senior member of the Hamas political bureau, Izzat al-Rishq, swiftly fired back at the allegations from the Israeli army, calling them unfounded.

"There's no basis in truth in what the spokesman of the enemy army stated," Rishq said, accusing Israel of making up the allegations to "pave the way for a new massacre to be committed against our people".