Israel has released information about the use — or abuse — of ambulances by the Palestinian terror group Hamas, citing intelligence gained from interrogations of terrorists who were arrested after the initial October 7 attack on Israel.

In a joint statement by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israel Security Agency (ISA) — also known as the “Shin Bet,” or “Shabak,” the Israeli government said: “The Hamas terrorist organization exploits ambulances, hospitals, clinics, mosques, and schools for terrorist purposes. Hamas also uses ambulances to transfer weapons and terrorist operatives in the Gaza Strip. This is another example of how the Hamas terrorist organization exploits civilian infrastructure and uses civilians as human shields.”

The statement cited reported admissions by Hamas terrorists under interrogation, including “I can leave with any ambulance I want,” and others:

– “[Izz ad-Din ]Al-Qassam [Brigades] have their own ambulances, some of which are located on the military base. The appearance of the ambulances is similar to the civilian ambulances so that they will not arouse suspicion or be bombed by Israel.”

– “During combat, the ambulances are used, among other things, to evacuate fighters – commanders and operatives. They also transport food, cargo and weapons in them because that is the safest way to transport them.”

– “Most senior Hamas political and military officials are hiding in the hospitals, especially the Shifa Hospital. They take advantage of the hospitals so that they will not be bombed.”

– “Hamas stores weapons and ammunition under schools.”

– “Many places in the Gaza Strip are rigged, the cables leading to the operating system are in civilian mosques and clinics.”

As Breitbart News has reported, Hamas was caught last week by the U.S. and Egypt trying to smuggle terrorists out of Gaza in ambulances. The IDF said last week that it launched an airstrike on an ambulance that was carrying Palestinian terrorists.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new biography, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order’. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.