Pentagon Says It Has Information That Hamas Uses Gaza Hospitals for 'Military Operations'

Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh has told reporters the US has information that Hamas uses “some hospitals in the Gaza Strip, including the al-Shifa Hospital, as a way to conceal and support their military operations and hold hostages.”

Singh was speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, November 14, the day before the Israel Defense Forces said a “precise and targeted operation” was being carried out against Hamas “in a very specific area of the Shifa Hospital.”

Singh continued: “They have tunnels underneath these hospitals. And so Hamas and PIJ members operate a command-and-control node from al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. They have weapons stored there and are prepared to respond to an Israeli military operation against the facility.”

One journalist in the video here is heard asking, “So you have no one entering the hospitals to verify this information?”

Singh replies, “We have no boots on the ground in Gaza.” She cites “multiple agencies” involved in collecting and assessing information. Credit: US Department of Defense via Storyful

Video Transcript

- In the back.

- Yeah. So two-part question. The president said yesterday that hospitals in Gaza must be protected. Is the US telling Israel not to attack hospitals or to shift the way it is operating at these sites. And then second, do you have any conclusive intelligence that these hospitals are legitimate military targets?

- So we've been very clear with-- I think you've seen in the readouts that the secretary has had with Minister Gallant that we believe that the protection of innocent civilians is, of course, not only a priority but it must be upheld. And so you've seen in our readouts time and time again that is something that the secretary continues to emphasize with Minister Gallant in all of his calls. And you've seen that from not just this department but across this administration.

I think what Jake Sullivan said yesterday is exactly what we keep reiterating to our Israeli counterparts is that we don't want to see a firefight in a hospital. We absolutely believe that hospitals should be places where people seeking medical treatment and attention need to be. And those places should be protected.

But you have to remember that we do have information that Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad uses some hospitals in the Gaza strip, including the Al-Shifa hospital as a way to conceal and support their military operations and hold hostages. They have tunnels underneath these hospitals. And so Hamas and PIJ members operate a command and control node from Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City.

They have weapons stored there and are prepared to respond to an Israeli military operation against the facility. So this is-- I'm just telling you what we as the intelligence community assesses is happening in Gaza City, how Hamas is using these hospitals to operate. But absolutely, we do not want to see a firefight in a hospital where there are innocent civilians. Fadi.

- Thank you, Sofia. So you said earlier you don't have any forces on the ground, right?

- That's right.

- So I take it this intelligence assessment is gathered based on information provided by Israel.

- Sorry. What I just read out, that's from our intelligence community.

- So did you have any assets inside Gaza.

- We have no assets or boots on the ground in Gaza.

- There's no gathering on the ground about this?

- That's right.

- So you have no one entering the hospitals to verify this information, right?

- We have no one-- we have no boots on the ground in Gaza.

- The question is, how was that assessment-- you know how did you conclude that assessment? Based on information received from your Israeli counterpart?

- Well, I'm not going to get into more specifics on how our intelligence is collected. What I can tell you is there are multiple agencies, as you know, here within the department and across the administration-- multiple agencies that collect and assess and analyze intelligence, but I'm not going to go into any further details on how that intelligence is gathered.

- You're confirming that you have no assets on the ground or assets entering to these hospitals to basically confirm the information you're sharing with us.

- I will say it again, we have no boots on the ground in Gaza. Louis. I'm sorry, Jared. And then I'll come back to you.

- What you just read--

- Yeah.

- --that sounds different than what it's more expansive than what Mr. Sullivan said yesterday. So am I correct in saying this is new information that you are providing to us?

- Yeah, that's correct.

- New language that is being assessed by the us intelligence community?

- This is newly downgraded information that we felt was important to get out today because there have been a lot of questions about the hospital and how Hamas operates. And so it was important to get out there for you all.

- And to clarify on Fadi's questions here, so this is an independent us assessment separate from the Israeli-- their own assessment, or is this information that they provided to you that then you've analyzed?

- Yeah. I'm just not going to get into more specifics on the intelligence. I can tell you that this is information that was downgraded and collected by the intelligence community. Yeah.

- What do you mean downgraded? You mean declassified?

- Declassified, yeah.

- Can you say whether any of this was independently collected from the Israelis.

- I'm not going to get into how or where this intelligence is coming from. This is done by our intelligence community. It was put together and downgraded so you can have a better idea of what's happening on the ground. Can I just-- well, I think he wasn't done yet.

- I'm sorry. Come back.

- On this subject then we'll come back.

- All right. Go ahead.

- Just the level of confidence usually when intelligence shares some information or declassify, you talk about--

- Yeah, I'm not going to go into the assessment of like how we feel. I'm just telling knew what the intelligence community has been able to declassify today and how we've-- I mean, the fact that I'm reading it out to you, we feel very confident in our sourcing and what the intelligence community has gathered on this topic. But I'm just not going to go into more specifics on the intel itself.

- So you had a high level of confidence because you said, "We are very confident."

- I'm saying I'm confident reading it to you from this podium today in our assessment. Did you have one more question? Then I'm going to go to the phones