Hamas denies Al-Shifa hospital claims, warning its a prelude to Israeli 'massacre'

Hamas has denied the Israeli military's claims that it uses the largest hospital in Gaza as a base, and warned that Israel was attempting to justify an attack on the facility. 

On Friday, Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said that "terrorists move freely in Al-Shifa hospital" in Gaza City, adding that it was being used to run part of Hamas' command and control centre. 

The Palestinian group strongly denied the claims on Friday. 

"We categorically affirm the falsehood of the Israeli occupation’s story about the use of Al-Shifa Hospital for military purposes, or the presence of any Hamas leadership in it," the group said in a statement. 

"We call on the UN and Arab and Islamic countries to intervene immediately to stop the madness of bombing and destroying medical facilities," it added. 

Senior Hamas figure Izzat al-Rishq said the remarks by Israel were a "prelude" to targeting the hospital, which is currently sheltering around 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza. 

"These lies represent a prelude to committing a new massacre against our people, which will be greater than the massacre of the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital," Rishq said.