2023-11-15 00:30:00
The United States on Wednesday accused Hamas, on the basis of its own intelligence, of using hospitals in Gaza for military operations, and in particular that of al-Chifa, around which fighting rages.
Accusations rejected by Hamas. “These statements give the green light to the Israeli occupation to commit new brutal massacres targeting hospitals, with the aim of destroying the health system in Gaza,” reacted the Palestinian Islamist movement in a press release in English.
Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group use “a command and control center from al-Chifa hospital” in Gaza, John Kirby, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said earlier on Tuesday. thus in the same sense as the Israeli authorities.
“It’s a war crime,” he said during an interview with journalists aboard the plane taking President Joe Biden to California, where he is due to meet his Chinese counterpart on Wednesday.
The spokesperson said the two Palestinian Islamist groups were using “some hospitals in the Gaza Strip, including al-Chifa, and the tunnels underneath, to conceal and support their military operations and to hold hostages.” “.
In particular, he assured that these sites were used to store weapons, and specified that this information had been obtained by the United States itself.
“We do not support airstrikes on a hospital and we do not want an exchange of fire in a hospital where innocent, destitute, sick people are simply trying to be treated,” he added.
A spokesperson for the US State Department indicated that Washington was asking that patients be “evacuated safely” and would be in favor of a third party taking charge of these evacuation operations.
Several thousand civilians remained trapped on Tuesday in al-Chifa hospital, the largest in Gaza, in a situation described as “horrible” by the UN.
11/14/2023 23:29:44 – San Francisco (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
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