British doctor who worked at Gaza’s Al Shifa hospital says he was warned there were areas where he would be shot by Hamas if he entered

A British doctor who worked at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza has revealed that there were ‘no-go areas’ in the building where he ‘would be shot’ if he went there.

Israel has long claimed the building is a hideout for terror group Hamas, with a command and control center reportedly located beneath the structure in a series of tunnels.

On Sunday, the Israel Defense Force said it had found a 55-meter-long tunnel near the hospital where it had also recovered four days ago the bodies of two hostages kidnapped last month.

Hamas has denied using the hospital as a base, but the doctor, who asked to remain anonymous, told France 24 that he worked there for three months in 2021.

He said: ‘When I was first asked to work there [at Shifa]I was told there was a part of the hospital I wasn’t allowed to go near, and if I did I was in danger of being shot.”

(File picture) A doctor cares for premature babies at Al Shifa Hospital

Israel has been attacking the area around Al Shifa for weeks, claiming that Hamas is entrenched beneath the hospital

When asked if it was explained why, the man, speaking with a Home Counties accent, said: “No, but it was implied that it was used for non-medical purposes.”

He added: ‘I stayed away but I saw some dodgy looking, non-medical characters going in and out all the time.

‘It was a section that led to a basement. Like I said, I didn’t go there; so I behaved.”

He continued: ‘I was welcome everywhere else, and as I said, the doctors and nurses there were very hospitable and very kind and the hushed tone in which this was said was very similar to all the other hushed tones in which Hamas was discussed.

“You know people were really scared. I cannot emphasize enough the atmosphere of collective paranoia that prevailed there.

“If hospital staff were 10 percent afraid of possible Israeli air strikes, 90 percent were afraid of being persecuted by Hamas.”

The IDF claimed it had found several weapons caches in Al Shifa, which is located in the heart of Gaza

An Italian journalist who previously visited the site said: ‘Shifa is a very big complex. “I got lost in there and at one point I ended up on an underground floor, facing two armed Hamas men in military fatigues who told me to get out.”

“Several Palestinian sources I spoke to later confirmed that Hamas’s command and control center was located beneath Shifa Hospital,” the Italian journalist said.

In images released by the IDF on Sunday, a tunnel under the hospital – where weapons and ammunition were also discovered – leads to a bomb-proof blast door that has yet to be breached.

An Italian journalist, who visited the hospital in 2009 after Israel’s Operation Cast Lead against Hamas, told local media that they had seen a similar door.

They said, ‘Shifa is a very big complex. I got lost in there and at one point I ended up on an underground floor and faced two armed Hamas men in military fatigues who told me to get out.

‘I got the impression that they were guarding a security door that gave access to their underground infrastructure.

“Several Palestinian sources I spoke to later confirmed that Hamas’s command and control center was located beneath Shifa Hospital and that [Hamas leader] Ismail Haniyeh hid there for the entire duration of Operation Cast Lead.”

In images released by the IDF on Sunday, a tunnel under the hospital – where weapons and ammunition were also discovered – leads to a bombproof blast door that has yet to be breached

The hospital has been subject to heavy military attacks by the IDF, which on Sunday allowed the evacuation of 31 premature babies to Egypt.

Gaza’s health ministry says more than 13,000 people have been killed in Israel’s military operation

Announcing the discovery of the tunnels, the Israeli military said it was “telling the truth” and posted a video on its website inviting readers to “see the evidence for themselves.”

The footage also showed clips of two hostages – a Nepalese and a Thai man – taken by Hamas terrorists on October 7, and doctors and medical staff can be seen in the background.

Although the faces in the video – just hours after the October 7 attacks – were blurred, Israel said it had “notified the appropriate authorities” about the men.

The hospital has been subject to heavy military attacks by the IDF, which on Sunday allowed the evacuation of 31 premature babies to Egypt.

The Hamas-run Health Ministry says more than 13,000 people have been killed in Israel’s military operation and several schools used as shelters and hospitals have been hit.