Hamas strongly denies occupation’s claims regarding tunnels in Gaza

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said yesterday that “the images and information broadcast by the Israeli enemy army about the presence of weapons in civilian areas in the Gaza Strip are pure lies and slander.”

“The fact that the Israeli enemy spreads these photos expresses the true crisis it is facing with human rights institutions and international bodies,” he added.

“Some of the scenes published by the army are of places where the enemy committed massacres against civilians in the Battle of the Sword of Jerusalem 2021, and they are now being brought before international legal bodies to prosecute the war criminals.”

Israel yesterday accused Hamas of establishing military bases in the heart of residential areas in Gaza.

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The Israeli army published a set of videos and photos of areas in the Gaza Strip, claiming that Hamas is building a military structure and digging tunnels in the area.

Among the sites that Israel claimed Hamas is using for its military operations is a weapons manufacturing site near Al-Shifa Hospital, a weapons depot near the Al-Shaheed Mosque in Al-Bureij refugee camp, a tunnel surrounding the Pepsi Factory, another near a school complex that includes the Rosary Sisters School, Al-Wahda School and Umm Al-Qura Common Core School, and a tunnel opening near the Islamic University.

Israel has previously accused Hamas of using civilian areas to store weapons, claiming that the movement’s military wing places these warehouses in homes, mosques and near public places. It has claimed that explosives are present deep in residential areas without supervision, giving it the right to target these locations during its offensives against the Strip.

Proof is never given or found for the Israeli claims.