Troops find car belonging to hostage, Hamas truck at northern Gaza hospital

Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent

A vehicle belonging to an Israeli hostage (right) and a Hamas pickup truck (left) are seen at northern Gaza's Indonesian Hospital, in a video published by the IDF on December 25, 2023. (Israel Defense Forces)
A vehicle belonging to an Israeli hostage (right) and a Hamas pickup truck (left) are seen at northern Gaza's Indonesian Hospital, in a video published by the IDF on December 25, 2023. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF has found a car belonging to an Israeli hostage and a Hamas pickup truck at northern Gaza’s Indonesian Hospital, further highlighting the terror group’s use of medical centers in the Strip.

Troops of the Navy’s Shayetet 13 commando unit and reservists of the 551st Brigade raided the hospital in recent weeks, finding “a host of materials linking it to Hamas activities,” the IDF says in a statement.

A white Toyota pickup truck containing weapons, similar to those used by Hamas during its October 7 onslaught on southern Israel, was found at the complex, along with a Toyota Corolla with Israeli license plates.

The Toyota Corolla belonged to the family of Samar Talalka, an Israeli hostage who was mistakenly killed by IDF troops in Shejaiya earlier this month.

Inside the car, troops found blood stains that were identified as belonging to another hostage, as well as parts of an RPG launcher, according to the IDF.

The IDF has accused Hamas of using medical centers in Gaza, including the Indonesian Hospital, as bases.

A massive Hamas tunnel network recently discovered and destroyed by IDF troops in the Jabaliya area, had branches going under the medical center.

During the ongoing fighting in Gaza, the IDF says it identified armed operatives of Hamas’s elite Nukhba forces inside the hospital, which was allegedly being used as a staging ground.

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