The memos originate from Gaza’s Interior Security Mechanism (ISM), an official body in the Hamas Ministry of Interior and National Security (MoINS).
The February memo, from ISM’s branch of Foreign Associations, was addressed to Colonel Ayman Rouqa, head of the Division of Foreign Activity, which oversees foreign NGOs and UN agencies.
The March memo was sent from an unidentified source to the deputy director of ISM’s Intelligence Affairs Sector (IAS), which manages intelligence and counterintelligence operations.
The documents chiefly focus on Hamas’ concerns that foreign NGOs working in hospitals could provide an opening for Israeli intelligence. They sought to bring the Health Ministry’s NGO-related decisions in line with Hamas’ larger security and intelligence priorities.
“These facilities are considered to be of interest to hostile security parties and an important source for intelligence gathering," stated the February memo, “especially in times of war, since these health facilities are a place of gathering for the wounded during times of escalation, and these wounded cases (i.e. people) hold sensitive positions in the resistance.”
A passage from one of the leaked memos (Image: NGO Monitor)[Missing Credit]
The documents go on to call for tighter control of foreign medical delegations in Gaza – restricting their movements, pre-approving staff, dictating NGO operations and assigning security escorts.
“Medical delegations should not be engaged when there’s a case of resistance leaders [present on the premises], and regular personnel [of Hamas] should be warned,” one of the memos reads.
Another refers directly to an international NGO, stating how they have “chosen [to operate] in a wing inside Al-Shifa Hospital that is adjacent to the [Hamas] movement’s offices”.
“The internal Hamas documents reviewed in this report expose a systematic Hamas strategy to militarize Gaza’s healthcare system, using hospitals and medical facilities as extensions of its military and security apparatus,” NGO Monitor stated in its report.
Meanwhile, Anne Herzberg, NGO Monitor’s legal adviser, told JNS: “The documents show they [NGOs] had to report to Hamas. They had to provide Hamas the names of those working for them. They knew they were being monitored by Hamas.”
Hostages being moved inside Shifa Hospital in Gaza City (Image: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)[Missing Credit]
The release of these documents comes just a month after former hostage, Ilana Gritzewsky, recounted to the UN Security Council how she was held, along with other hostages, at Nasser hospital.
“They took us through the back entrance and walked us past all the civilians. In the hospital, there was an area that was closed off and used only by Hamas, with an armed guard,” she said.
