Israel falsely claimed Gaza hospital had tunnel after striking it

Army kills 34 Palestinians and injures dozens in bombardment of European Gaza Hospital and its surroundings

Palestinians carry the body of a victim killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting the European Hospital in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip, on May 13, 2025. [Abed Rahim Khatib – Anadolu Agency]

The Israeli army provided misleading information about the presence of a tunnel beneath the European Gaza Hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, which was bombed twice within 24 hours, local media reported Wednesday.

An analysis of aerial images released by the Israeli military “shows that the tunnel is located in a nearby school,” said Israel’s Haaretz daily.

It added that the tunnel is “not inside the hospital as the army claimed,” noting “the absence of any evidence supporting the claim that the tunnel runs beneath the medical facility.”

The Israeli army killed 34 Palestinians and injured dozens in a series of airstrikes late Tuesday targeting the European Gaza Hospital and its surroundings, according to statements from the Ministry of Health and the Civil Defense.

In a joint statement, the Israeli army and Israel’s Shin Bet internal security service claimed they had carried out a “precise strike” targeting Hamas members.

Israeli media outlets including the public broadcaster KAN said the objective of the attack was to assassinate senior Al-Qassam Brigades commander Mohammed Sinwar.

Mohammed is the brother of Yahya Sinwar, the head of Hamas's political bureau, who was killed by Israel on Oct. 16, 2024.

Hamas described the Israeli targeting of the European Gaza Hospital as “a new war crime.”

According to a statement by Gaza’s Government Media Office on May 8, a total of 38 hospitals, 81 health centers and 164 medical institutions have been destroyed, burned or rendered inoperative during the ongoing Israeli onslaught.

The Israeli army has continued a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip, killing more than 52,900 Palestinians since October 2023, most of them women and children.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

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