The Israeli military has claimed it has found a Hamas tunnel under a key hospital in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis. The tunnel located beneath the European Hospital served as a command and control centre for senior Hamas leaders and to launch attacks on Israeli forces, according to the Israel Defence Forces (IDF).

Sharing a video of the Hamas tunnel on its X handle, the IDF said the route contained numerous findings such as command and control rooms, weapons and additional intelligence materials.

“Hamas continues to exploit hospitals in Gaza for terrorist purposes, cynically exploiting and endangering civilians,” the IDF added.

In the recent past, the Israeli military has posted visuals of tunnel networks, commonly known as the Gaza Metro, under or in hospitals across Gaza and claimed they were used to coordinate attacks on Israeli forces.

Notably, in 2023, the IDF claimed it had found a part of a vast tunnel network beneath Al-Shifa Hospital, Gaza’s largest medical health facility that has been nearly destroyed in the war.

The IDF asserted that Hamas used Al-Shifa Hospital as a command centre and stocked weapons, but the hospital authorities and the Palestinian terror group rejected Israel’s claim.

The war began on October 7, 2023, when Israel launched a brutal campaign against Hamas in Gaza after fighters from the group attacked the Jewish nation and killed around 1,200 people and abducted 251 hostages. More than half the hostages have been released in ceasefires and other deals.

According to Gaza health authorities, over 54,000 people have been killed in the 19-month-old war so far.