Jan Franke, a former Middle East correspondent for Dutch and international outlets, made a brave move last week that few [if any] journalists have taken.

Franke now works in producing virtual reality movies but from 2014 and 2019, he frequently worked in Gaza. Last week, he published a Twitter thread revealing what he experienced at Shifa Hospital and other sites in the Gaza Strip.

“I have been to the Al Shifa Hospital several times as a reporter during the Israel-Gaza war in 2014 [Operation Protective Edge] and also afterward,” he wrote. “It is a vast complex. I have personally seen Hamas fighters there. Everyone in Gaza including UN staff knows about the dual use of these facilities.”

“I also recall incidents during the Gaza War in 2014 when journalists staying in the hotels in the ‘safe coastal’ area of Ribal reported Hamas fighters launching rockets next to the hotel because they knew the IDF could and would not bomb there. This is the reality of war in Gaza.”

“To further elaborate on my tweets above, here is a photo I secretly took in July 2014 during the height of the Gaza War at Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. You can see uniformed Hamas fighters (in blue) sitting cautiously next to the entrance where ambulances arrive.”

“Later, when we moved inside the Shifa Hospital to report on the emergency surgery on a victim of an Israeli bomb (horrible scene), I asked to follow the Hamas fighters inside the hospital to interview them/see what they were up to.”

“At this point in the Gaza War, it was very rare to see uniformed Hamas fighters anywhere in Gaza. They were all dressed in civilian clothes and/or hiding in underground tunnels. So I wanted to speak to them here. But my request was immediately denied: way too dangerous,” Franke concluded.

In answer to a reader’s question: “Did you write about this in any of your reports at the time?” Franke answered: “I did write in newspapers and on Twitter about how hard it was to report the war in Gaza because you would never see Hamas or Islamic Jihad combatants because they did not wear uniforms or other means of identification. Locally, they are referred to as ‘ghosts’ تحية طيبة.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)