Jan Franke Profile picture
Former Correspondent in Israel and the Palestinian Territories for leading Dutch and international media 📻📺 📰 (2012-2019) Surfer. Burner. Truth Seeker.

Nov 16, 2023, 6 tweets

CAUTION - I have been to the Al Shifa hospital several times as a reporter during the #Israel #Gaza war in 2014 and also afterwards. It is a vast complex. I have personally seen #Hamas fighters there. Everyone in #Gaza including #UN staff knows about dual use of these facilities.

FYI: I have seen @ThomasVLinge jump to wrong conclusions about incidents in the #GazaWar already before, from the comfort of his desk chair. I think this is another time where he should proceed with caution. This is undoubtedly not the last video from shifa hospital.

I also recall incidents in the #Gaza_War in 2014 where journalists staying in the hotels in the 'safe coastal' area of Ribal reported Hamas fighters launching rockets next to the hotel because they knew the @IDF could and would not bomb there. This the reality of war in #Gaza.

To further elaborate on my tweets above, here is a photo i secretly took in July 2014 during the height of the #Gaza_War at Al Shifa hospital in Gaza city. You can see uniformed Hamas fighters (in blue) sitting cautiously next to the entrance where ambulances arrive.

Later, when we moved inside the Shifa hospital to report on the emergency surgery on a victim of an Israeli bomb (horrible scene), I asked to follow the hamas fighters inside the hospital to interview them/see what they were up to.

At this point in the #Gaza_War was very rare to see uniformed #Hamas fighters anywhere in #Gaza. They were all dressed in civilian clothes and/or hiding in underground tunnels. So I wanted to speak to them here. But my request was immediately denied: way too dangerous.

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