Did Israel find a tunnel under Al-Shifa Hospital? What video shows

The Israeli military on Thursday shared what it said was photographic and video evidence of a Hamas tunnel shaft under Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital complex.

“In the Shifa Hospital, IDF [Israel Defense Forces] troops found an operational tunnel shaft and a vehicle containing a large number of weapons,” the military said in a statement.

The IDF previously said it raided the largest medical complex in Gaza on Wednesday to carry out “a precise and targeted operation against Hamas in a specified area” within the hospital, “based on intelligence information and an operational necessity.”

Hamas has denied it occupies the hospital, and an official from the Palestinian militant group called the IDF raid a “crime” that would result in more lives being lost.

Soon after the raid, various social media users began casting doubt about claims of a Hamas tunnel existing underneath the hospital, with some people claiming Israel itself had built a bunker under the complex in 1983.

On Thursday, though, the IDF publicly shared what it said was a video and a photograph of a Hamas-made tunnel shaft under Al-Shifa.

Newsweek reached out to the IDF via email Thursday night for further comment.

The video appears to show a hole in the ground on the site of the hospital complex. In it, various pieces of twisted metal can be observed.

The Times of Israel reported that military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said a Hamas pickup truck was also found nearby. Hagari said weapons like those used by Hamas in the October 7 attack were found inside the vehicle.

The IDF posted a video on X, formerly Twitter, of the truck. In its caption, the IDF wrote that its troops had found weapons such as AK-47s, sniper rifles, grenades and other explosives in the Al-Shifa complex.

On Wednesday, the IDF posted a video online that features a soldier showing what the military’s X account described as “countless Hamas weapons” that IDF troops said they found in Al-Shifa Hospital’s MRI building.

Not everyone was convinced by the evidence shared by the IDF.

Jackson Hinkle, conservative political commentator and social media influencer from the United States, shared his doubts on X.

“ISRAEL says they found a ‘Hamas tunnel’ inside a hospital. All I see is a giant crater. No TUNNEL, no HAMAS, no HOSPITAL. 2 days ago, ISRAEL lied that an elevator shaft 200+ yards from the hospital was a Hamas tunnel,” Hinkle wrote.

Others believed the IDF’s reports, including Moshe Schwartz, a reporter for Yeshiva World News.

In a post on X, he used other images he said showed the location of the tunnel in relation to the surrounding buildings.