US White House: Hamas Using Hospital as Military Operation Base... Constitutes War Crime

On the 14th (local time), the White House stated regarding the controversy over the Israeli military's bombing of a hospital in the Gaza Strip, "We have information that Hamas is using some hospitals, including Al-Shifa Hospital, to hide hostages for military operations."

John Kirby, White House Coordinator for Strategic Communications

John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the White House National Security Council (NSC), said this during a briefing on board the plane to San Francisco for President Joe Biden's attendance at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.

Coordinator Kirby said, "Hamas is storing weapons at Al-Shifa Hospital and preparing to respond to Israeli military attacks," adding, "Such actions constitute war crimes," and "We do not want to see fighting taking place in hospitals where innocent people are present." However, he emphasized that these actions by Hamas do not relieve Israel of its responsibility to protect civilians.

He explained that negotiations to release hostages held by Hamas are actively underway with regional counterparts. Regarding the Washington Post (WP) report that negotiations for the release of hostages between Hamas and Israel are close to being finalized and that a five-day temporary ceasefire will be implemented, he refrained from making specific comments.

Coordinator Kirby added, "What is clear is that we do not support a ceasefire that benefits Hamas," and "We support the humanitarian pause being pursued by the Israeli military."

Sabrina Singh, Deputy Spokesperson for the Department of Defense, also stated during the briefing that "Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) are using some hospitals in the Gaza Strip, including Al-Shifa Hospital, as means to conceal and support their military operations and as places to hold hostages."

Deputy Spokesperson Singh said, "They have tunnels under the hospital," and "Hamas and PIJ operatives operate a command and control center at Al-Shifa Hospital, where they stockpile weapons and prepare to respond to Israeli military operations."

Earlier, Israel had released related materials claiming that Hamas is militarily using medical facilities in the Gaza Strip, in response to growing international criticism that the Israeli military is targeting civilian facilities such as hospitals in Gaza for military operations.

Jake Sullivan, White House National Security Advisor, also expressed support during the briefing for Israel's military assessment that Hamas is using hospitals in the Gaza Strip as command and control centers.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.