An investigation by the American newspaper The Washington Post revealed that the evidence provided by Israel does not rise to the level of showing that the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) used Al-Shifa Hospital as a command and control center.

The investigation added that none of the five buildings in the Shifa Medical Complex identified by the Israeli army are connected to the tunnel network. He also confirmed that there is no evidence of the possibility of entering the tunnels from within the corridors of the Al-Shifa Complex.

The Washington Post explained that its detailed investigation was based on an analysis of open source video clips, satellite images and all materials published by the Israeli army, and stated that legal experts and human rights activists confirmed that the results of this investigation raise critical questions about the bombing of the Shifa Medical Complex.

The newspaper said that the administration of President Joe Biden had declassified the US intelligence assessment that supported Israel's claims, and quoted a senior American official as saying that they were confident of the veracity of the intelligence information that spoke of Hamas' use of the hospital as a command and control center.

"Clues"

But the US government - adds the Washington Post - did not publish any of the declassified materials, nor did any official share the intelligence on which the assessment was based.

It quoted an Israeli occupation army spokesman as saying that the army had published extensive “irrefutable” evidence indicating that Hamas used the Shifa complex for military purposes, but he assured the newspaper that they could not provide other additional evidence.

A prominent member of the US Congress explained to the Washington Post that he was initially convinced of Israel's allegations that Hamas used the Shifa Medical Complex as a control center, but now he doubts that, and stresses that Israel must have more evidence about this matter.

The American newspaper added that the United States' ally bombed the complex - which includes hundreds of patients and thousands of displaced people - in an unprecedented manner, causing the hospital services to collapse and stop service as fuel ran out, and ambulances were unable to collect the wounded from the streets.

A dangerous precedent

A mass grave was also dug inside the complex to bury about 180 people, and among the victims were premature babies who died as a result of the Israeli bombing.

The Washington Post quoted Jeffrey Korn, a law professor at Texas Tech University, as saying: “If in the end you do not find what you said you would find, that justifies doubts about whether your assessment of the military value in conducting the operation was legitimate or not.”

Experts also warned of the precedent that targeting the Shifa Medical Complex would set.

Brian Finucane, a former legal advisor to the US State Department who now serves as a senior advisor to the Crisis Group, stressed that searching for pretexts to justify targeting the hospital will set a precedent for future operations against hospitals during wars.

He stressed that there should not be an assumption that hospitals can be targeted in general based on what Israel put forward regarding the Al-Shifa Complex.