Netanyahu says there were “strong indications” Hamas hostages were held in Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital

Washington — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that there were “strong indications” that hostages held by Hamas were at Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital, but they were no longer there when the Israeli military launched a ground operation there earlier this week. 

“We had strong indications that they were held in the Shifa Hospital, which is one of the reasons we entered the hospital,” Netanyahu told “CBS Evening News” anchor and managing editor Norah O’Donnell. 

“If they were [there], they were taken out,” he said. 

Netanyahu said his government has “intelligence about the hostages,” but declined to be more specific. 

“The less I say about it, the better,” he told O’Donnell. 

The Israel Defense Forces said it carried out a “precise and targeted operation against Hamas in a specified area” of the hospital early Wednesday after it warned the terrorist group against using the medical complex as a base. Israel has accused Hamas of having a command center underneath the hospital. Hamas has denied the charge. 

Roughly 240 hostages were taken during the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas militants, according to the Israel Defense Forces. Only four have been released, including two Americans. 

Watch more of Norah O’Donnell’s interview with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on tonight’s “CBS Evening News.”