IDF Says Hamas Operatives Moved Explosives From Kamal Adwan Hospital
The military says one of two men struck in northern Gaza planted explosives near its troops. Palestinian Civil Defence says the man it identified was on a rescue mission.
The IDF said on 7 October that it killed two Hamas operatives after observing them leave Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, with one allegedly carrying explosives that he then planted near Israeli troops. Palestinian Civil Defence identified one of the dead as a volunteer rescuer and disputed the account of his activity.
The strike took place overnight between Tuesday and Wednesday. The accounts leave a central disagreement over what the men were doing before they were struck.
What the military reported
According to the IDF, one of the men placed devices brought from inside the hospital near the Yellow Line, intending to harm soldiers. The military said the pair were targeted shortly after being identified.
The military also alleged that the men had recently used the hospital to advance attacks and restore Hamas capabilities in violation of the ceasefire. The Jerusalem Post reported that the IDF released footage alongside its account. The published allegations about the explosives and their origin have not been independently established.
The man identified by both sides
The IDF named one of those killed as Muhammad Tammous, describing him as a sniper in Hamas's military wing who also worked for Gaza's Civil Defence service. Its published account did not clearly identify Tammous as the person said to have planted the devices.
Civil Defence spokesman Mahmoud Bassal gave a different account of Tammous's movements. He described him as a volunteer travelling to assist wounded people near the hospital. Al Jazeera also reported the rescue account, citing Civil Defence and a medical source. The second man was not named in the reports reviewed.
A video report by Anadolu Agency added that Palestinian health sources said Tammous died of his wounds after trying to rescue casualties near the hospital, and that the Palestinian Civil Defense Directorate issued condolences describing him as killed during humanitarian duties. His Hamas role remains an IDF allegation, and the rescue account remains the Palestinian version.
The two descriptions concern both affiliation and activity: the military alleged a Hamas role alongside Civil Defence work, while the Palestinian account described a rescue mission at the time of the strike. Acknowledgment of his Civil Defence work therefore does not itself resolve the disagreement about his other alleged role.
A separate development in northern Gaza
The incident follows the IDF's 6 October announcement that it demolished a tunnel approximately 1.5 kilometres long in northern Gaza. That operation concerned underground infrastructure; Wednesday's account concerned an alleged attempt to place explosives near deployed troops. The military did not establish a connection between the two incidents.
It also came as Israel marked three years since the Hamas massacre of 7 October 2023, when about 1,200 people were murdered and 251 abducted. Earlier Israeli alerts concerned the possibility of attacks around the anniversary. The hospital incident is a specific operational account within that wider security posture, with the competing descriptions of Tammous's final movements still unresolved.
