A significant development has emerged after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) raided the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City during its war with Hamas, the terrorist organization that has, until recently, governed the region. Israeli soldiers reportedly discovered photos of hostages and weapons at the hospital following the Wednesday raid.

This finding adds to the growing body of evidence showing that Hamas is exploiting Palestinian civilians as human shields by placing their weapons, equipment, and operatives in buildings in which noncombatants are present.

The IDF tells a BBC reporter, one of the two foreign journalists first taken into Shifa hospital in Gaza, overnight Wednesday-Thursday, that among the items discovered by troops was a laptop that contained photos and videos of hostages, taken after their abduction to Gaza.

Reporter Lucy Williamson is also told, but not shown, that the laptop also contains recently released footage, shared by Israeli police, of their interrogations of Hamas terrorists arrested after the October 7 assault.

Entering an MRI room at the hospital, the BBC’s Williamson reports that the IDF says it has recovered “more than a dozen Kalashnikovs, grenades, personal protective equipment, some of it with the Hamas military brigade insignia on it — you can see some of them here, hidden under these bags of medical supplies.”

“We’re also told that there have been laptops found with some information about the hostages — recent files that suggest this may have been a Hamas operating base as recently as a few days ago,” she adds.

Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, a spokesman for the IDF, displayed a bulletproof vest sporting Hamas insignia, which was found alongside weapons in a medical closet at the hospital. The discovery confirms the United States intelligence findings, as previously stated by White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby, that Hamas and other terrorist groups had been using Al-Shifa Hospital as a command and control center.

As RedState’s Streiff reported, the hospital is believed to have housed many of the hostages seized by Hamas during the October 7 surprise attack on Israel, which killed over 1,000 Israelis, many of whom were civilians.

While Hamas has maintained that Al-Shifa is strictly civilian, Israel and other nations have concluded that the hospital covers an extensive Hamas underground facility.

The White House said on Tuesday the U.S. has intelligence that shows Hamas has used hospitals in Gaza, including the Al-Shifa Hospital, "to conceal and to support their military operations and to hold hostages."

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby made the announcement on Air Force One while traveling with President Joe Biden to the APEC summit in San Francisco.

It appears to be the first time the U.S. has revealed specific intelligence about how and where it says Hamas has held Israelis and Americans kidnapped when the group, designated by the U.S. as a terrorist organization, attacked Israel on Oct. 7.

"I can confirm for you that we have information that Hamas, and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, used some hospitals in the Gaza Strip, including Al-Shifa, and tunnels underneath them, to conceal and to support their military operations and to hold hostages," he told reporters.

Israeli forces reportedly warned the hospital about the impending attack, a move that was confirmed by a Hamas commander on the premises. The pre-assault warning was intended to minimize civilian casualties. Egyptian medical personnel, using IDF equipment, evacuated critical patients from the facility, including 36 premature babies.

Following the raid, a video tour of the hospital led by Conricus was released and then deleted, then later republished. The footage showed weapons and other equipment found during the raid. The deletion and republication raised questions and speculation, with some suggesting that the revelation might not have packed the punch Israel thought it would.

Israel continues its effort to destroy Hamas and has taken out many of its leaders. It was recently revealed that Palestinian civilians have begun aiding the IDF in this mission.