Hamas Tunnel Below Gazan Hospital 'One of many Warfare's Largest Rorschach Exams'

[ad_1]

Hamas's weaponization of hospitals marks 'the embodiment of a broader narrative battle between Israelis and Palestinians,' Grey Girl stories

<img width="736" height="491" src="https://s2.freebeacon.com/up/2025/06/israeli-army-escorts-media-to-gaza-european-hospital-near-khan-yunis-736x491.jpg" class="w-full wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://freebeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/israeli-army-escorts-media-to-gaza-european-hospital-near-khan-yunis-scaled-e1749499724414.jpg 736w, https://freebeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/israeli-army-escorts-media-to-gaza-european-hospital-near-khan-yunis-300x200.jpg 300w, https://freebeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/israeli-army-escorts-media-to-gaza-european-hospital-near-khan-yunis-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://freebeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/israeli-army-escorts-media-to-gaza-european-hospital-near-khan-yunis-768x512.jpg 768w, https://freebeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/israeli-army-escorts-media-to-gaza-european-hospital-near-khan-yunis-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://freebeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/israeli-army-escorts-media-to-gaza-european-hospital-near-khan-yunis-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://freebeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/israeli-army-escorts-media-to-gaza-european-hospital-near-khan-yunis-1400x933.jpg 1400w, https://freebeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/israeli-army-escorts-media-to-gaza-european-hospital-near-khan-yunis-50x33.jpg 50w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 736px) 100vw, 736px"/> Israeli troopers exit Hamas tunnel close to hospital (Amir Levy/Getty Photos) The New York Instances confirmed Sunday that Hamas operated a tunnel beneath the European Gaza Hospital weeks after casting doubt on its existence. As a substitute of condemning Hamas for utilizing a hospital as a terror base, nevertheless, the paper framed the tunnel as a matter of clashing narratives.

"What we noticed in that darkish and slim tunnel is without doubt one of the struggle's greatest Rorschach checks," Instances reporter Patrick Kingsley wrote in a Sunday article after touring the positioning, calling it "the embodiment of a broader narrative battle between Israelis and Palestinians over how the battle must be portrayed."

"To Israelis, the placement of an underground passageway highlights Hamas's abuse of civilians," the article's subheading reads. "To Palestinians, Israel's determination to focus on it highlights Israel's personal disregard for civilian life."

The Instances final month cast doubt on the tunnel's existence, quoting the hospital's director as saying such a tunnel was unlikely. Two weeks later, Muhammad Sinwar—the de facto chief of Hamas and youthful brother of slain October 7 mastermind Yahya Sinwar—was killed contained in the tunnel, in line with the Israel Protection Forces.

Whereas the left-leaning paper confirmed the tunnel's existence on Sunday, it cited a hospital spokesman lamenting that "Israel ought to have discovered different methods to get rid of any needed commander."

The Instances is the newest mainstream outlet to exhibit concern for Hamas's perspective. The Washington Submit , for instance, final week ran the headline "Israeli Troops Kill Over 30 Close to U.S. Assist Website in Gaza," citing Hamas officers. After the declare was debunked, the Submit quietly up to date the headline—solely issuing an editor's word to its story after the Washington Free Beacon reported on the absence of one .

Hamas has an extended document of utilizing civilian websites to defend its terrorist exercise. The group has additionally dug tunnels beneath Al-Shifa Hospital, U.N. Aid and Works Company colleges, and even the U.N. places of work in Gaza Metropolis, knowingly placing civilian lives in peril.

IDF spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin on Sunday accused Hamas of leaving Israel with no various.

"We had been dragged by Hamas up to now," Defrin advised the Instances . "In the event that they weren't constructing their infrastructure below the hospitals, we wouldn’t be right here. We would not assault this hospital."