New report ignores important details about Hamas terrorists' use of Gaza hospitals, prompting UN to be accused of downplaying the issue.

The conflicting narratives between the IDF and the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health have resulted in differing accounts of the ongoing conflict in northern Gaza. Recent reports on Hamas' utilization of hospitals have been particularly contentious.

On Nov. 3, the COGAT reported that during its efforts to evacuate patients and staff from Kamal Adwan and Al-Awda hospitals in northern Gaza, terrorists detonated an explosive device near the Kamal Adwan hospital. Despite the convoy escaping injuries, six children in the hospital were injured.

The Gaza Ministry of Health did not disclose the explosive device, according to an IDF spokesperson who told Planet Chronicle Digital that the COGAT Gaza Coordination and Liaison Administration (CLA), in collaboration with the heads of the World Health Organization, found out that the device was "planted by terrorist organizations in Gaza."

The Hamas Gaza Ministry of Health declared on Nov. 4 that "the IDF continues to violently bomb and destroy Kamal Adwan Hospital, impacting all hospital facilities." The ministry accused the IDF of making a decision to "execute all the staff who refused to evacuate the hospital."

The New York Times briefly mentioned the detonation from the previous day in their reporting on the Ministry of Health assessment.

The IDF spokesperson informed Planet Chronicle Digital that after a thorough examination, they have no information about any attacks on the Kamal Adwan hospital on November 4th. They stated that a terror target located 100 meters away from the hospital was hit with a "precise munition" on that day. The spokesperson emphasized that Hamas remains heavily armed and operates ruthlessly in the Gaza Strip, frequently harming Gaza's civilians, with over 3,000 rocket launches by the terrorist organization landing within Gaza itself.

On Oct. 28, Reuters reported that an Israeli raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital led to the capture of approximately 100 suspected Hamas terrorists. The IDF stated that "a few of the fully identified terrorists disguised themselves as medical staff," necessitating the need "to check the medical staff as well." During the operation, the IDF discovered terrorist funding, weapons, and intelligence documents within the hospital.

The Gaza Ministry of Health claims that "all medical staff were arrested and deported" by the occupation, leaving "only one pediatrician."

The IDF spokesperson highlighted that the IDF was "obligated to act" due to Hamas militants utilizing medical facilities for military purposes, posing as medical staff, and storing weapons in hospital compounds. The IDF also ensured that patients received the required medical equipment or were evacuated to other hospitals in Gaza.

Brig. Gen. Elad Goren, head of COGAT, spoke to Planet Chronicle Digital about the Ministry of Health's statement that the IDF was executing staff at Kamal Adwan Hospital. "Our focus is on helping people who are not part of the violent circle at Kamal Adwan and evacuating them because we want to capture the terrorists and investigate them to find out where our hostages are," Goren said. "If the world wants to believe Hamas, I think they have a problem with their values."

Ahmad Kahlot, a high-ranking Hamas member and former director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, has previously confirmed that the hospital is used to hide high-ranking military activists. In December 2023, Kahlot admitted that the hospital contains housing for terrorists as well as areas for interrogations, internal and special security.

In October 2024, COGAT conducted an interrogation of an ambulance driver who asserted that Hamas fighters were present in Kamal Adwan Hospital, both inside and outside, and used the ambulances to transport their wounded military operatives and for their missions, rather than for the benefit of civilians.

The United Nations’ Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory released a September 2024 report detailing Israel's treatment of Gazan medical facilities and staff. However, the report does not mention Hamas' presence in Kamal Adwan Hospital.

The removal of Commission Chair Navi Pillay is just the beginning of a larger issue for Anne Bayefsky, president of Human Rights Voices and director of the Touro University Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust. Bayefsky stated on Planet Chronicle Digital that Pillay's commission is a professional hit job and has nothing to do with facts or law. She also added that Pillay's latest report contains blood libels.

The Commission interviewed senior medical personnel at hospitals and they denied any military activity, emphasizing that the hospitals' only role was to treat patients. However, the commission confirmed the presence of a tunnel and shaft below Al-Shifa hospital but could not verify if they were used for military purposes.

Bayefsky pointed out that Israel has publicly shown, through photographic and video evidence, how Hamas uses hospitals for military purposes, such as underground tunnels that use hospital power sources, serve as command centers and weapons depots, have weapons and equipment on hospital floors alongside patient wards, hide weapons in incubators, and are used as operational facilities to direct military activity.

In its report, the commission described how two Israeli hostages were held in Gazan hospitals and received medical treatment for their wounds. However, Bayefsky claims that the commission failed to mention that the hostages' treatment involved doctors pouring chlorine and vinegar onto hostage Maya Regev's dangling foot to cause pain or cutting into her without pain relievers. Additionally, Bayefsky points out that the commission did not address how Gazan doctors pulled a bullet from hostage Itay Regev's leg without using anesthesia while Hamas members spat on him, slapped him, and threatened to kill him if he screamed.

The Commission of Inquiry was questioned by Planet Chronicle Digital regarding the exclusion of information about the use of Kamal Adwan Hospital by Hamas, the failure to report on the mistreatment of Israeli hostages, and whether they believed there was a non-military purpose for the Hamas tunnels discovered beneath medical facilities.

The commission's spokesperson informed Planet Chronicle Digital that the report's conclusions were made in accordance with international standards and on the basis of reasonable grounds to believe. The spokesperson explained that the commission used "specific hospitals" as "emblematic cases," and expressed regret that the commission has not been granted access to Gaza to conduct on-site investigations and interview victims and witnesses.

Hamas' tunnels are used for activities other than military purposes, according to Dr. Tal Mimran of the Cyber Security Research Center at Hebrew University's Faculty of Law, who spoke with Planet Chronicle Digital.

Mimran stated that the existence of a tunnel is the best reason to enter a hospital because it cannot be dealt with outside of the hospital. He added that it would be difficult to argue that the tunnels in Gaza are not controlled and operated by Hamas, even if they are used for non-military purposes. Regardless of the purpose, the tunnels provide a place to stay, recuperate, gather, and prepare, which is sufficient for the IDF to operate within them.

Mimran stated that the international law protecting hospitals from entry can be weakened if the hospital is being used for military advantage by Hamas, such as storing weapons, acting as a headquarters, or holding hostages. In such cases, Israel has the right to enter the hospital and operate from within it, but must minimize any harm to the hospital's functionality. If a hospital is being used as a permanent structure to promote attacks against an army, Israel could treat it as a military object.

Other elements of disinformation and antisemitism have been witnessed in conflict coverage.

Researchers have expressed concerns about the accuracy of casualty figures released by the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health in Gaza, according to author Salo Aizenberg, who spoke to Planet Chronicle Digital. Aizenberg stated that there is evidence to suggest that Hamas has been manipulating casualty figures since the beginning of the conflict.

During Operation Cast Lead in 2009, Hamas underestimated the number of fighters it lost, only to later admit to losses that matched Israeli figures. Aizenberg noted that Hamas continues to deny having lost many thousands of fighters, despite the IDF's estimate that it has killed around 17,000. Aizenberg explained that for some reason, a U.S. designated terrorist group that kidnaps babies and rapes hostages is seen as a credible source of information, while Israeli claims are considered suspect.

The U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food published a treatise on hunger in Gaza in August. However, Israel's Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon accused the rapporteur of trafficking in antisemitism in an Oct. 17 letter to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Danon was particularly upset by a 14-page "graphic report" that accompanied the full report. The artist portrays Israel as a multi-headed hydra whose heads spew fire on the Palestinian flag. The text superimposed over the hydra reads, "Israel is not 'defending itself' against a 'Terrorist organization,' but is attacking the indigenous Palestinians as a people."

Danon characterized the illustrations as "awful" and stated they aligned with "Nazi and anti-Semitic propaganda."

The Human Rights Council and Farhan Haq, deputy spokesperson for Guterres, were questioned by Planet Chronicle Digital about whether the graphic report contained antisemitic incitement against Israel. The Human Rights Council's spokesperson stated that special rapporteurs are "independent human rights experts," and that "the positions taken by Special Rapporteurs do not necessarily reflect the positions of the Council."

The Secretary-General opposes all expressions of antisemitism, regardless of the source.