Hamas Blames US For Israeli AssauIt On Gaza Hospital
US President Joe Biden is “wholly responsible” for the Israeli assault on Gaza’s largest hospital, says Hamas, the Palestinian group that rules the enclave.
The accusation came in a statement on Wednesday, a day after the White House said US intelligence sources corroborated Israel’s claims that Hamas has buried an operational centre under the hospital.
“We hold the occupation [Israel] and President Biden wholly responsible for the assault on al-Shifa medical complex,” Hamas said.
“The adoption by the White House and the Pentagon of the occupation’s false claim that the resistance is using al-Shifa medical complex for military ends has given the green light to the occupation to commit more massacres against civilians,” the statement continued.
Israeli Forces said on Wednesday morning that they were carrying out a “precise and targeted operation” against a suspected Hamas command centre beneath al-Shifa, where thousands of civilians are sheltering.
Youssef Abul Reesh, an official from the Hamas-run Health Ministry who is inside the hospital, told the AFP news agency that he could see tanks inside the complex and “dozens of soldiers and commandos inside the emergency and reception buildings”.
After sharp warnings from the United States and others that al-Shifa must be protected, Israel said the raid was being executed based on “an operational necessity”.
Israel has repeatedly claimed that Hamas’s military use of the facility “jeopardises its protected status under international law” a claim that many international human rights lawyers refute.
ALJAZEERA
