From the Liveblog of
Thursday, November 16, 2023
IDF says it has ‘clear info’ linking Shifa to Hamas-held hostages, but images of captive on laptop are from pre-Oct. 7
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The IDF says it has “clear information” indicating a connection between Hamas activity in Shifa Hospital and the hostages, as well as “new findings” indicating a Hamas tunnel network under the complex.
It says it is investigating laptops and other technological devices that were found in the medical center.
Contrary to earlier information an IDF spokesman told the BBC, claiming that a laptop contained photos and videos of hostages taken after their abduction to Gaza, the IDF clarifies that the photos are not in fact from after their abduction.
The IDF says that on one of the laptops, a background showed a publicly available image of Pvt. Ori Megidish before she was captured.
The IDF says that during scans today “new findings were found indicating significant underground infrastructure in the hospitals, and our forces are working to uncover them.”
Hamas has been accused by Israel of maintaining its main command center under Shifa Hospital.
