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The IDF has released videos of weapons they claim were left in Gaza hospitals Rantisi and al-Shifa by Hamas members, to prove Hamas used these protected institutions for military purposes, rendering hospital patients human shields.

Some of the weapons are clearly arranged for the videos, while others are presented as being found where they lay (like behind an MRI machine). All are presented as having been discovered in the hospitals.

That al-Shifa is used by Hamas for military purposes is old news, and the US government is confident this is the case. My question however is about the specific claim of weapons found recently in the hospital:

Is there proof these weapons were actually found in the hospital and not planted by the IDF before the video?

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    Voting to close, as I am judging this to be a current event which will require independent expert verification.
    – Avery
    Nov 15 at 21:03
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    @Avery almost all recent questions have fallen in that category, have you voted to close those too?
    – user1271772
    Nov 15 at 22:08
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    @user1271772: naah. But I suggest you read the pinned post skeptics.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/4992/… If the IDF planted these guns it would very hard to prove given that (at al-Shifa at least) we're talking about 3-4 "grab bags". And they say the security cameras were off or disabled. This Q will probably never be answerable beyond "do you trust the IDF?"
    – Fizz
    Nov 15 at 22:18
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    @Fizz You asked the first 2023-Israel-Hamas-War question, and it was quite answerable. The next question was "Were babies found with their heads decapitated in Israel after the Hamas attack?" which was about a current event that isn't easy to prove right? Based on a glance at the "answers", it's not easy to figure out what the answer actually is. The top-voted answer (score = 26) says a confident "yes" (that the babies were murdered), but the second answer (score = 21) says the claim was "baseless" but "there is some newer, inconclusive, evidence to consider". Seems pretty unanswerable to me.
    – user1271772
    Nov 16 at 0:25
  • @user1271772: yeah, that one I agree should probably have been closed for a while. Too many contradictory press reports etc. One of the answers (Dave's) was entirely rewritten 3 times, if you check its history. I for one got tired of trying to update my answer there (did like 2 updates--I didn't delete stuff). We probably don't need more Qs like that one. And frankly this Q has the potential to be like that, pending any new discoveries that someone might want to post as a "cannot sure about that video, but look what they found now!"
    – Fizz
    Nov 16 at 0:28

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Outside of Israeli sources, expect stuff like the quote below for quite a while.

The Washington Post was unable to independently verify who the weapons belonged to or how they came to be inside the radiology unit.

NYT (about the other/Rantisi raid)

Both videos contained a series of assertions that could not be independently verified. The first includes well-displayed evidence — guns, explosives and other weaponry all arranged as if by police showing the haul from a drug raid — whose provenance similarly could not be confirmed.

At least regarding the Rantisi case, the IDF also posted a video apparently showing an RPG being fired by someone who is then said to run inside the hospital. However, AFAICT that video hasn't received anywhere near as much international attention as the raid ones. (Also, no RPGs were claimed to have been found at al-Shifa, just Kalashnikovs and hand grenades.)

About a week before the raid, Al-Jazeera has posted several images showing large holes, some surrounded by burn marks in the top floor and ceiling of the Rantisi hospital. Insofar, I've not been able to find out how the IDF says those happened. Gaza/hospital authorities say they were Israeli missile strikes.

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    Since the Q was closed I've made this A community wiki. The idea being in case someone feels like adding something to this, feel free. It's probably better than just delete because it does contain quotes to the effect that by Western journalistic standards this can't really be currently answered.
    – Fizz
    Nov 16 at 6:31
  • Although this answer provides no proof, it's a good representation of sources saying it's difficult to prove. That's also an answer. Also good reminders that aside from those weapons there is abundant evidence of military hospital use by Hamas.
    – YouDontSay
    Nov 16 at 15:14

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