The IDF's ability to continue its operation in Gaza and the credibility of Israel are at stake here, as the number killed in the fighting surpasses 12,000, according to the Hamas run Ministry of Health. The IDF says one of its missions is to destroy Hamas. [00:00:15] But with international criticism mounting, Israel has to show the terror organization is using Gaza's civilians and infrastructure as cover to justify an ongoing war. Well, it's a brand new week, and the Israeli Defense Forces have yet to provide solid evidence that justifies their attack of the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza. [00:00:35] Now, a tunnel shaft is the latest alleged discovery that the IDF is pointing to as some evidence. We'll get to that in a moment. But before we get to any of this, I think it's really important to keep in mind that the movements and reporting of journalists in the Gaza Strip are severely restricted, [00:00:55] so much so that even CNN has to disclose how much of their content is being controlled and censored by the IDF. If you don't believe me, here's what I'm talking about. CNN reported from Gaza under Israel Defense Forces escort at all times [00:01:10] as a condition for journalists to join this embed with the IDF. Media outlets must submit footage filmed in Gaza to the Israeli military censors for review. That's a bit of an issue. You are not supposed to have one side of the war. Essentially determine what you can and cannot report which footage you can and cannot use. [00:01:28] So it's important to know about that inherent bias in the reporting because of the fact that it's controlled by one side of this war. But with that said, I do want to now go to some of the footage that has been debunked. Now, the BBC has, in my opinion, done a better job in sussing out [00:01:48] whether or not the IDF is providing legitimate evidence and the evidence that they have provided so far of Hamas militants operating out of Al-Shifa has been flimsy, to say the least. Even if this evidence were confirmed as legitimate, it is still [00:02:05] not enough evidence to basically justify attacking a hospital like Al-Shifa, the largest hospital in the Gaza Strip. With that said, I want to go to the next two videos because in these videos you'll see the BBC pouring cold water on the flimsy evidence [00:02:22] that has already been provided by the IDF. Let's watch. Israel also released its own seven minute video, which BBC verify has analyzed. A watch visible in that video suggests it was filmed a few hours before the BBC arrived, and this IDF video was posted, then deleted, then reposted, this time [00:02:42] without a section referring to an Israeli soldier who'd been held hostage. I don't know when this was used the last time. Also in the video, we see a room with an MRI machine. And if you zoom in and we get some light over here, would you be able to see are is military equipment? [00:02:59] The BBC was shown the same room. And what we see in the two videos doesn't precisely match. For example, there's one gun in the IDF video two by the time of the BBC footage. Israel has told BBC verify this is because more weaponry and terrorist assets [00:03:16] were discovered throughout the day. Now remember, the argument by the IDF was that the Al-Shifa hospital was being used as a Hamas headquarters, if you will, like a command center. They have now changed their rhetoric a little bit. [00:03:31] The United States has changed its rhetoric in how they refer to how the Al-Shifa hospital has been utilized by Hamas, and you'll know exactly what I'm talking about in this next clip, and then we'll go to Eugene. Let's watch. Israel also says its video is a single shot with no edits. [00:03:48] But this appears to be an edit. We don't know the reasons for that edit, nor how significant it is. The IDF, though, says suggestions it's manipulating the media are incorrect. The IDF video also shows military equipment in other locations, though we [00:04:06] can't verify how it came to be there. And what we see in this IDF video doesn't equate to Israel's description of Al-Shifa as an operational command center for Hamas. The US is using a different phrase, saying Al-Shifa was used as a command and control node. [00:04:24] That implies a much smaller facility. Israel is adamant this hospital was a command center, but for now at least, it's either not found supporting evidence or it's not sharing it. So, Jake, you now have the IDF, not the IDF, [00:04:40] the United States changing its rhetoric from Hamas command center to Hamas node. And you also have the IDF say, well, it appears that Hamas militants have now fled to the southern region of the Gaza Strip, and we're going [00:04:55] to intensify our bombardment there. So, by the way, where Palestinian civilians are supposed to go, they know that there's nowhere for Palestinian civilians to go. They don't care. They're going to do the bombardments anyway. So what do you make of what the IDF has provided in terms of evidence so far? [00:05:11] Yeah, it's miserable and it's embarrassing. It's humiliating actually. So you got two guns by the time the BBC showed up, instead of the one gun you found originally. Or you say you found and a pair of boots and a couple of flak jackets. Wow. Seems like a real command center over there. [00:05:29] I mean, how did they even put out that video? That's embarrassing. It proves that there is no command center. Even the IDF's video does. The command center only had two weapons. Preposterous, right? And one flak jacket or a couple or something. And pair. Come on, come on. It's humiliating. [00:05:46] So now it's a node. According to America. Eventually it'll be a molehill, and eventually it'll be like. Well. And in fact, this is exactly where they're going now. They're tunnels. Yeah, but we already knew there were tunnels all across Gaza, underneath Gaza. [00:06:01] That proves literally absolutely nothing. And that leads to the most important point, the shaft that the the IDF showed. CNN is not in the hospital like they make the whole story sound like. Oh, well, we've got the shaft that leads to a tunnel in the hospital. [00:06:18] Well, by the kind of by the hospital. No, it's in the street. It's not in the hospital. All in fact, during the taping they go, well, it could go to the hospital over there. You're like, what? So it's not even anywhere near the hospital. So I actually want to go to the discovery of the tunnel shaft next. [00:06:37] CNN, who of course, was embedded with IDF soldiers, reported on that. And even they had to admit that this wasn't solid evidence to justify the bombardment and the absolute destruction of the Al-Shifa hospital, [00:06:53] where, of course, you have innocent civilians sheltering for safety. So with that said, let's take a look at that reporting. Now with the hospital compound, we wait inside a structure to make sure the area is secure before moving the short distance to the exposed tunnel shaft. [00:07:09] And here is the entrance. You can see what looks like a ladder access into it. And as I step over here. It's very difficult to see how far down it goes. But it looks like there's almost a central shaft for a staircase. [00:07:24] Shaft of it disappears, then down into the darkness. We move around the opening for a better look at the shaft itself. What's clear from here is this is meant to go deep underground. We weren't allowed to enter the shaft, but the Israeli military sent special gear down to see where this leads. [00:07:40] Inside, the video shows a spiral staircase, and as the camera orients itself, it moves forward into a tunnel. The tunnel makes a sharp left turn, and at the end of another path, with concrete walls and an arched concrete top, a metal door. They say they have not yet opened because they fear it's booby trapped. [00:07:57] This is not proof of a Hamas command center or headquarters underneath a hospital, but Israel continues trying to build its case that Hamas uses the sanctuary of the hospital for cover, which Hamas and hospital officials have denied. So even CNN has to admit that that this is [00:08:15] not evidence that Al-Shifa hospital was being utilized as a Hamas command center. And I mean, how many, how many days have passed now? I mean, it was last week that they made this claim prior to attacking the hospital, and they have yet to turn up any evidence. And in fact, they are now attacking other hospitals, which we'll get [00:08:33] to in just a moment while simultaneously claiming, well, it looks like Hamas fled to the south, and now we need to increase our bombardment of the South, where we told Palestinian civilians to flee to for safety. Yeah, so this is comical. When I first saw the video, I'm like, wait, how come there's sky above them [00:08:51] and there's no roof above them? Because I thought it was in a hospital, right? That's what they made it seem like. And you're like, oh, it's not in the hospital. And then at another portion of that CNN interview, even the IDF spokesperson says, well, the tunnel could go under the hospital. That's that's the best you got. [00:09:08] But like, by the way, guys, like I said, there's tunnels all across Gaza. Everyone acknowledges that. So it would be surprising if a tunnel didn't go under some buildings. How would they avoid all the buildings? It's a tiny little area, right? That's not the question. The question is, was there a command center inside the hospital? [00:09:25] But the IDF now controls the hospital completely. They took the hospital. So where's the goddamn command center? Oh, right. You were lying the whole time, and now you're pointing to a tunnel, not inside the hospital, and pretending that it's leads to a command structure, slash node, slash molehill that might go to the hospital. [00:09:43] Get out of here. Nothing. Zero total utter propaganda. And even if it was true that the tunnel leads underneath the hospital, how did bombing the hospital and killing the the babies that were on the incubators help you get anyone inside the tunnel? But you see from the tunnel how far how deep it goes. [00:10:01] And it is 0% affected by the bombing. The great irony here is the one thing that the IDF proved is that the bombing has no effect on the tunnels. - Such a. - Great point. That's such a great point. And that's demonstrably true. It is. And so, you know, what's really interesting is the commentary from [00:10:21] the doctors who work at these hospitals, many of whom are volunteer doctors from other parts of the world. Right. They argue, first of all, no, Hamas is not using the hospital as a command center. In fact, we as doctors who want to save lives would not agree to operate [00:10:41] or work out of hospitals that are being utilized by Hamas militants for these purposes because it defeats the purpose of what we're trying to do. They know that the IDF doesn't care about civilians in the hospital. They know that the human shields are not justification in the eyes of the IDF [00:10:59] to avoid bombing the hospitals, schools, UN centers, refugee camps, they know that. So they're not going to risk the lives of their patients by agreeing to work out of hospitals that are being utilized as these command centers by Hamas. [00:11:17] That's the kind of commentary you'll hear from them if you're watching media outside of the US corporate press, which has for the most part been in lockstep with the IDF and the Israeli government. With that said, though, I want to go to one other piece of evidence that the IDF has been pointing to, which proves absolutely nothing. [00:11:35] They argue that they now have footage demonstrating that Hamas militants took some of the hostages who were kidnaped on October 7th, to the hospital to Al-Shifa. So let's take a look at that. The Israeli military released this footage claiming to show the desperate moments. [00:11:52] Terrorists took two hostages into Al-Shifa hospital, one by stretcher, the other dragged in on the morning of the October 7th attacks. What happened next? We don't know. The World Health Organization says that same hospital is now a death zone, [00:12:09] having been surrounded and cut off by Israeli forces for nearly two weeks. They evacuated 31 premature babies once given days to live in Al-Shifa, now being treated down south, though some of the babies didn't survive the trip. [00:12:24] So I want to be clear that the identities and the timestamps of the footage that the IDF shared of the alleged hostages have not been verified. But even if they do end up getting verified. Hamas militants rushing hostages to a hospital is not proof or evidence of them [00:12:43] using that hospital as a command center. It's proof that they were trying to keep them alive and for leverage, not because they're good guys or anything like that, but the first person was had blood all over them. Where would you bring them if you wanted them to stay alive? You'd bring them to a hospital. [00:13:00] You think that proves that? It's a command center? Come on, guys, I mean, this is really the biggest propaganda failure I've seen in my lifetime of covering politics. I mean, the propaganda is so poorly executed. Usually Israel's really good at this. [00:13:17] And America is usually really good at this. And when you have both of them working together, they're usually the best in the world. But I they're not even trying. I mean, this is comically bad propaganda, but. Hold on, Jake. Usually Israel is really good at this, I disagree. Israel has never really needed to prove its case before. [00:13:34] This is the first time I've experienced in my career where people are actually questioning the actions of the Israeli government and the IDF. For the first time, I see this international pressure campaign, including people in the United States, engaging in that pressure to see the evidence. [00:13:51] And I just think they're rusty because they've never really felt that pressure before. Well, that's. A great point, because what it's how it's worked over the last quarter century at least, is Israel says something, America repeats it, and everyone in media says, if you dare question it, you're associated with terrorists [00:14:10] and anti-Semitic ET. And if you think that's not true, you're just lying. That's just everybody in America has seen that for the last quarter century. So but now that remember though, remember the irony of that. And this is really important. But now that blockade is broken and we're having the media report things [00:14:30] half way accurately here in America. And so give credit to American media. So they are not controlled by anyone. They are now independent. And by the way, a lot of those reporters bringing in the good reporting disproving the IDF are Jewish. A lot of the toughest questions asked is of by Jewish American anchors [00:14:47] to Israeli ambassadors and spokespeople. ET cetera. So I love to see those old anti-Semitic tropes being disproven right now. And so if you're wondering, well, why did it happen in the last quarter century? Yeah, there's a different political forces at play, including defense contractors [00:15:03] and a lot of different and evangelical Christian community. That was a giant block that prevented us questioning Israel. ET cetera. In the past. But now the minute giannas point, the minute you start questioning their propaganda, it becomes super obvious. [00:15:18] And yet they've gotten soft. Apparently, at least their propaganda units have, because this is this can't stand up to any scrutiny. Hey, thanks for watching the video. We really appreciate it, guys, and we appreciate it if you become members, because that allows us to be independent, honest, progressive, all the things [00:15:35] that you don't get from corporate media and all of that is because of you guys. Hit the join button below and become one of us. Become a young Turk.