Georges Malbrunot judges Israel’s operation in al-Shifa hospital “fairly poor in terms of results”

The images released Thursday by the Israeli army after the military operation in the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza are “far” from proving that “the hospital housed the operational center of Hamas”, according to senior reporter Georges Malbrunot.

The Israeli army released this Thursday, November 16, a video and photographs taken inside the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza, besieged on Wednesday by the IDF and presented as housing strategic infrastructure of Hamas, author of the October 7 attacks. in Israel.

In a nearly seven-minute video broadcast Thursday morning, Jonathan Conricus, spokesperson for the Israeli army, walks around the hospital complex, the largest in the enclave. There he shows equipment and weapons presented as belonging to Hamas: rifles, grenades and a computer.

Too “skinny” booty?

“The operation is quite meager in terms of results,” judges this Friday on BFMTV-RMC Georges Malbrunot, a senior reporter specializing in the Middle East. “For the moment, it gives the impression that Hamas had a police station, a control station.”

But as it stands, “we are far from having proof that the al-Shifa hospital housed Hamas’ operational center,” says the journalist.

The Israeli army also did not find any hostages directly in the facility. However, “images relating to hostages” captured by Hamas were found on equipment seized during the raid, according to the army.

Thursday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu explained on the American channel CBS that he had “strong indications that they (the hostages, editor’s note) were being held at al-Shifa hospital”, affirming that “this is the ‘one of the reasons’ for the raid on the hospital. If the hostages were there, they were transported,” he added.

Israel also affirmed Thursday evening and Friday morning that it had found the remains of two hostages “near the hospital”.

Israel’s communication in question

“We have the impression that Israeli communication is slipping a little. We were told that a network of tunnels runs from the al-Shifa hospital. For the moment, the army has only discovered one entrance,” adds Georges Malbrunot.

“By communicating too much”, Israel “risks giving arguments to its enemies”, believes the journalist.

The Israeli army published on social networks on Thursday evening the image of a hole surrounded by debris which it presents as the entrance to a tunnel located near the hospital.

The IDF continues its search of al-Shifa hospital this Friday. The establishment, which still houses hundreds of patients and caregivers, is deprived of water and electricity.

The site has been in the sights of the Israeli army for several years. In 2015, the NGO Amnesty International affirmed in a note that Hamas had tortured and killed Palestinians accused of having collaborated with Israel in 2014 in the hospital premises.