IDF releases recording of Hamas stealing fuel from Gaza hospital
A Hamas commander and a Gazan citizen purportedly discussed how the terrorist group takes fuel from hospitals in the Gaza Strip despite growing concerns about the availability of resources for civilians, according to a call intercepted by the Israeli military.
On Wednesday, the Israel Defense Forces released a declassified recording of what it says is a three-way call between the deputy commander of Hamas's Western Jabalia Battalion, a Gazan civilian and the head of the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza.
Israeli military intelligence intercepted the call and declassified the information to expose Hamas' "cynical exploitation of humanitarian resources in the Gaza Strip," according to a IDF press release.
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"The video confirms that Hamas controls energy distribution in Gaza, prioritizing terrorist needs over the needs of their civilian population," the IDF stated.
The release comes as the war between Israel and the terrorist group Hamas entered a new phase last week after Israel expanded its military operations in Gaza. The escalation comes after Hamas' Oct. 7 assault against Israel that resulted in the deaths of 1,400 people and more than 200 others being taken hostage.
Since Israel launched retaliatory airstrikes and a ground invasion of Gaza in response to the attack, Hamas-run health authorities say over 8,000 people have been killed, including over 3,000 minors. The Hamas figures don't distinguish between combatants and civilians.
Amid the conflict, there have been ongoing concerns about the lack of fuel and other supplies for residents in Gaza and how to deliver supplies to them. One of the issues with delivering aid is the possibility that Hamas terrorists may steal it for themselves.
On the call, the citizen said that someone from the Ministry of Finance told him that he could get diesel fuel from the Indonesian hospital. The hospital manager said that a Hamas operative had come for diesel fuel the night before.
"The Ministry of Finance official told me last night that I should fill up for him [Hamas operative] only if he needs to move at night," the hospital manager said on the recording. "In the daytime, they will bring them [Hamas] 1000 liters."
"I said to him that they [hospital] have 600 liters in the supply," he continued. "He told me to fill up with 600 liters for them."
The Gazan resident on the call asked the hospital manager to provide someone with fuel, stating, "We're all working as a government for the sake of the country (Palestine)."
In response, the hospital manager told the man that he would check.
"For God's sake, fill it up for him now; people are pressuring us!" the resident said. "A bit longer, and they'll start shooting at us because they are pressuring us. May it be God's will."
As The Times of Israel reported Tuesday, Israel will allow 100 humanitarian aid trucks a day into Gaza after reaching an agreement with the Biden administration. The agreement comes after the United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees claimed that the aid trucks to Gaza did not meet the "unprecedented humanitarian needs."
Israel blocked aid from entering on its side of the border, according to the outlet, but allowed convoys to enter through Egypt. By enhancing the amount of aid in the southern Gaza Strip, Israeli officials hope to convince more civilians to move away from the north to allow Israel to continue its military operations, according to the outlet.
"All of the deliveries are designated for the civilian population — if it comes to light that they are being taken by Hamas, they will stop," the Israeli Prime Minister's Office stated.
According to a report from The Telegraph last month, the IDF plans to use "sponge bombs" as it works through Hamas' network of underground tunnels. The chemical bombs are intended to impede Hamas' ability to ambush Israeli forces by sealing off entire sections of the tunnels underneath Gaza that the terrorist group uses to hide.
"Contained in a plastic container, the specialist devices have a metal partition separating two liquids," the report said about the bombs. "Once this barrier is extracted, the compounds mix as the soldier positions the 'bomb' or throws it further ahead."
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
