Surprise! Released female hostages were being held captive in U.N. compounds

JERUSALEM – News emerged on Wednesday of the three female former Israeli hostages being held for at least part of the time during their 471 days in Gaza captivity in United Nations shelters, as if the timing could not have more perfectly underscored U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order to defund UNRWA.

BREAKING: Former hostages Romi, Emily, and Doron were held in United Nations shelters in Gaza, which were meant for civilians.

The UN refuses to condemn Hamas for hiding hostages in civilian spaces.@newsisrael13 @maya_aidan https://t.co/qJyjY1Y8ao pic.twitter.com/Ejt7ct2Ol7

— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) January 22, 2025

The accusation once again raises the specter of the United Nations being indivisible from the terrorist groups dominating the Gaza Strip, and is another nail in the coffin of legitimacy, which has consistently worn away at global bodies and humanitarian NGOs, which have parroted Hamas talking points and statistics.

The official X channel of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported : “Former hostages Romi, Emily, and Doron were held in United Nations shelters in Gaza, which were meant for civilians. The UN refuses to condemn Hamas for hiding hostages in civilian spaces.”

In its message, the Israeli Foreign Ministry links to a report broadcast yesterday by the Israeli television Channel 13T, which states the following: “Two days after being released from Hamas captivity, after 471 days in captivity, Romi Gonen, Emily Damari and Doron Steinbracher begin to recount today (Tuesday) what they experienced, the conditions of their captivity, as well as the places where they were held in the Gaza Strip by Hamas terrorists since they were kidnapped on Oct 7.”

BREAKING: Hostages were held in UNRWA compounds. Three Israeli women held hostage by Hamas in Gaza for 471 days reported they were held captive part of the time in UN shelters. How we do know it was UNRWA? Because UNRWA told us. They boasted about it: “UNRWA runs all UN shelters” https://t.co/w93NdwYXkX pic.twitter.com/3DMLtftITZ

— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) January 22, 2025

The channel’s report added the women were hidden for part of the time in the United Nations shelters, temporary camps set up for those seeking refuge from the theater of war. It seems the terrorists holding the hostages – and there must be an assumption they were not the only ones – took advantage of the designation of the camps, knowing the IDF would be extremely unlikely – unless there was intel to suggest otherwise – to attack the compound, thus providing themselves with some security.

Additionally, Fox News Digital reported an exclusive story about captured terrorists who were interrogated confessing that Israeli captives were held at different times at the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza.

About a month ago, the IDF and Israel Security Agency conducted a wide scale operation at the hospital apprehending some 240 Hamas terrorists. Included in this group was Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the hospital’s director, who has become something of a cause celebre for protesters across the globe, who without any evidence or experience in these matters have confidently exclaimed he is not a Hamas member, and have demanded Israel release him.

It is a request Israel has rebuffed, claiming its security services have gathered intelligence he not only allowed Hamas to infiltrate the hospital, but actively collaborated with the terrorist group.

Another captured terrorist, Anas Muhammad Faiz al-Sharif, who worked at the hospital as a cleaning supervisor and joined the Nukhba forces of Hamas’ Al-Qassam Brigades in 2021, told Israeli interrogators the northern Gaza facility was viewed as “a safe haven for them because the [Israeli] military cannot directly target it.”

He revealed that inside the hospital, terrorists distributed grenades and mortars, along with equipment for ambushing IDF troops and tanks, according to Fox News Digital.

The news outlet requested a response from the World Health Organization, which provided some boilerplate International Humanitarian Law being very clear and that healthcare workers and facilities were off-limits.

“They must not be attacked. They must not be used for military purposes. The protection of healthcare also includes the prohibition against combatants using health facilities for military purposes. IHL is also clear that even if healthcare facilities are being used for military purposes, there are stringent conditions which apply to taking action against them, including a duty to warn and to wait after warning and even then, disproportionate attacks are strictly prohibited.”

Even if one looked especially hard, you will not find a condemnation of Hamas anywhere in the statement; and the idea on the one hand according to IHL combatants must not use medical facilities as cover for their military operations, but if they do they are not permitted to be attacked is laughable. No wonder with one of the first strokes of his pen after the inaugural, U.S. President Donald Trump immediately decided to defund the WHO.

Richard Goldberg, a senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and former Trump National Security Council official suggested the president’s pick for U.N. ambassador, Elise Stefanik, would be entirely justified in launching investigations into agencies such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, UNRWA, and the WHO, demanding they turn over documents and key personnel.

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