White House Says It Has Information Hamas Uses Hospitals, Still Asks Israel to Protect Civilians

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby. (Wikimedia Commons/Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff)

JAKARTA - The White House said on Tuesday that it had intelligence regarding the use of Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza to carry out its military operations and possibly to store weapons, saying this did not reduce Israel's obligation to protect civilians.

"We have information that confirms that Hamas is using the hospital for command and control and possibly to store weapons," national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters aboard Air Force One, as reported by Reuters, November 15.

"That is a war crime," he said.

He further said that the United States received information that Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad were using several hospitals in the Gaza Strip, including Al Shifa, to hide or support their military operations and to take hostages.

He said the groups were also ready to respond to Israeli military operations against the facilities.

The information comes from a variety of intelligence methods, Kirby said, adding that President Joe Biden's administration had lowered the classification level of some of the data on Tuesday so it could convey its conclusions to journalists.

Nevertheless, Kirby underlined that Hamas' actions at the hospital did not reduce Israel's responsibility to protect civilians, but acknowledged that these actions made Israel's efforts to eradicate Hamas more complicated.

"To be clear, we do not support attacks on hospitals from the air. We do not want to see firefights in hospitals where innocent people, helpless people, sick people are just trying to get medical care what they deserve," said Kirby.

"We have been clear on several occasions that Hamas' actions do not diminish Israel's responsibility to protect civilians in Gaza, and this is something we will continue to actively discuss with our partners," he added.

Israeli forces have surrounded Al Shifa hospital in Gaza City, the largest hospital in the territory, which they say is located above the underground headquarters of Hamas militants.

The militant group denied the accusations, saying 650 patients and another 5,000-7,000 civilians were trapped inside the hospital grounds, under sniper and drone fire.

It said around 40 patients had died in recent days, including three premature babies whose incubators were damaged.

Separately, a Hamas official in Beirut said 25 of Gaza's 35 hospitals were unusable due to the Israeli attack. The fate of Al Shifa Hospital in particular has become the focus of international concern, including from Israel's closest ally, the United States.

Israel denied the hospital was under siege and said its forces allowed escape for those inside. However, medics and officials inside the hospital denied this, saying those who tried to leave would face criticism.