War in the Middle East
USA: Hamas uses hospitals for military purposes
The situation in the hospitals in Gaza has recently become increasingly dramatic. photo
© —/Satellite image ‘2023 Maxar Technologies/AP/dpa
The Shifa clinic in Gaza is a “command and control hub” for the Islamist Hamas, according to the White House. At the same time, the USA did not support any attacks on the hospitals.
According to information from the White House, the… USA reports information that the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip is using hospitals for military purposes. “Hamas and members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) are using some hospitals in the Gaza Strip – including the Shifa Clinic – and tunnels beneath them to conceal and advance their military operations and to hold hostages,” the National Security Council’s communications director said in the USA, John Kirby.
The Shifa clinic in the city of Gaza is a “command and control hub” for these groups. Equipment and weapons would probably also be stored there, it was said. According to Kirby, this information comes “from a variety of proprietary intelligence methods.”
At the same time, he made it clear that the USA did not support air strikes on hospitals or firefights near them. “Innocent people, helpless people, sick people” who were “just trying to get the medical care they deserve” should not be caught in the crossfire. Hamas mixed with the civilian population. Using the Shifa clinic for military purposes is a war crime and makes the Israeli military’s deployment “significantly more difficult,” Kirby said.
While the Israeli army continues its attacks in the fight against Hamas, the situation in the hospitals in the coastal area has recently become increasingly dramatic. There is a lack of medicine, water, food and fuel for the generators. According to Hamas, dozens of bodies were buried in a mass grave in an inner courtyard on the grounds of the Shifa Clinic – the largest hospital in the Gaza Strip – on Tuesday, including around 180 bodies that had already decomposed. The statements could not initially be independently verified.