Russian envoy to UN says ‘yet to see any convincing evidence’ of Hamas positions at Gaza hospitals

Vasily Nebenzya made the comments during a hearing at the UN Security Council focused on the impact of the fighting in Gaza on women and children.

“We have heard allegations of Hamas command posts and bunkers located in these [health] facilities, but we have yet to see any convincing evidence of those,” he said.

The statement is a response to Israeli claims that Hamas houses operational positions in hospitals – most notably al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City – using the people there as human shields. But Israel has only released a handful of photos as proof, with many observers saying the so-called “evidence” is far from irrefutable. Hamas has denied the claim.

Nebenzya added: “We’d particularly like to stress the unacceptability of denying humanitarian access to children, which is an absolute priority given Gaza’s appalling conditions.”

“As a result, more children have died in Gaza over the past month than in all other conflicts over the past few years combined.” he continued.