A security official of the Hamas resistance group has rejected Israel’s latest claim of capturing Palestinian resistance commanders during a deadly raid on the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City.
The official, who was speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remarks on Friday, after the Israeli military released a photo collage showing the pictures of alleged 358 resistance fighters who were detained at the medical complex.
The official told Qatar-based Al Jazeera TV network that the pictures of the detainees are not accurate and that they were published in line with Israel’s “psychological war” against the resistance in the Gaza Strip.
“Some pictures are of those who are not in Gaza now, as well as Palestinian martyrs and doctors already released by the occupation’s army,” he added.
Early on Monday, heavily armed Israeli forces stormed the al-Shifa hospital and fired at thousands of patients, medical staff and displaced civilians inside the medical complex.
They killed more than 140 Palestinian in and around the hospital and arrested a total of 650 others, including journalists and health workers.
Over the past days, the Israeli military has laid siege on the al-Shifa hospital, with its snipers and helicopters targeting those trying to flee.
In November 2023, Israel conducted a similar raid on the medical facility, sparking widespread international condemnation.
Israel waged a genocidal US-backed war on Gaza last October after Hamas carried out its historic operation against the usurping entity in retaliation for the regime’s intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.
So far, the Tel Aviv regime has killed at least 31,988 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 74,188 others.
