Israel Accuses Hamas of Executing Captive Soldier at Shifa Hospital

Israel has intensified accusations against Hamas, claiming that a captive soldier, Noa Marciano, was executed at Shifa Hospital in the Gaza Strip. Shifa Hospital, once a shelter for Palestinian war refugees, has been a focal point of Israel’s recent military offensive. Israeli forces are conducting operations to uncover hidden Hamas facilities and locate approximately 240 individuals kidnapped by Hamas after a cross-border assault on October 7. Noa Marciano’s body was discovered near Shifa, with conflicting narratives between Hamas and Israel regarding the circumstances of her death. Israel alleges that Hamas terrorists took Marciano inside Shifa Hospital, where she was murdered, while Hamas asserts she died in an Israeli air strike.

The Israeli military spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, stated that Hamas gunmen also brought two foreign hostages, a Nepalese and a Thai, to Shifa Hospital, without disclosing their names. Video footage released by Hagari purportedly shows the hostages being escorted into the hospital. The Israeli military further presented video evidence of what it claims is a tunnel, 55 meters in length and 10 meters below Shifa Hospital, constructed by Palestinians. While Hamas denies having tunnels in civilian infrastructure like hospitals, Israel alleges that such underground structures exist beneath the Shifa compound. Mounir El Barsh, the Gaza health ministry director, dismissed Israel’s claims as a “pure lie.”