An Israeli army official says footage related to the captives taken by Hamas was found on a laptop seized during an army raid on al-Shifa Hospital, without elaborating.

In a statement, the Israeli official said the images were found on equipment “belonging to Hamas”.

It was not possible to verify the claims. Hamas has rejected the Israeli army’s statements as “ridiculous”.

The US, who backed up Israel’s claims that the hospital was connected to a Hamas “command centre”, has not provided any proof of the allegation either.

On Wednesday, Al Jazeera correspondent Fadi Mansour asked Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh during a press briefing if the US had assets in Gaza to verify the claims that Hamas was using the hospital.

After repeated questions on the sourcing of the US’s intelligence, Singh said she could not “get into specifics,” but they feel “very confident” in what the intelligence community has gathered.

Reporting from Washington, DC, Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett said: “This is the problem for this administration: There doesn’t seem to be a good answer. Instead, there’s a lot of deflection and redirection because there simply isn’t an explanation.”



What we know

  • Israeli forces remained inside Al-Shifa, the Gaza Strip’s main hospital after storming it for a second time in 24 hours, Israeli officials say. The Israel Defense Forces say it discovered AK-47s, hand grenades, military uniforms and a laptop with a photo of a kidnapped Israeli soldier on it, in the hospital.
  • Video shared after yesterday's raid does not appear to show definitive evidence that a Hamas command center exists beneath the hospital, a claim that Israeli officials have repeatedly made and Hamas has forcefully denied.
  • President Joe Biden has said that he didn’t believe the Israel-Hamas war would end “until there’s a two-state solution.” The remark came after he was asked about setting a deadline around U.S. support for Israel in the conflict.
  • Three gunmen opened fire at a crossing in Jerusalem, injuring seven people before they were shot dead by officers, police said today. Israeli officials also said they were opening an investigation into crimes committed during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, including allegations of sexual violence.
  • More than 1.6 million people have been displaced in Gaza, and health officials there say more than 11,200 have been killed. Israel estimates 1,200 people were killed in the Hamas terrorist attack Oct. 7, with 239 people still held hostage in Gaza.
  • NBC News’ Keir Simmons, Raf Sanchez, Erin McLaughlin, Matt Bradley, Jay Gray and Chantal Da Silva are reporting from the region.