US Backs Israel’s Claim that Hamas and PIJ Terrorists Hide in Gaza Hospitals
by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – As the Israel Defense Forces surrounded Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital on Tuesday, the United States backed up Israel’s often-repeated statements that Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists embed themselves and their infrastructure within civilian hospitals, the Times of Israel (TOI) reports.
The Shifa Hospital is believed to be the central command post of the Hamas terror group that Israel is trying to dismantle.
In a press briefing Tuesday, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters: “We have information that Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad use some hospitals in the Gaza Strip, including al-Shifa, and tunnels underneath them to conceal and to support their military operations and to hold hostages,”
“Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad members operate a command and control [center] from al-Shifa in Gaza City,” Kirby said. “They have stored weapons there, and they’re prepared to respond to an Israeli military operation against that facility.”
At the same time, Kirby added that the US expects Israel to be responsible to protect civilians.
“Hospitals and patients must be protected,” Kirby said, asserting that innocent civilians sheltering in hospitals do not “deserve not to be caught in the crossfire.”
On Monday, all 27 European Union member states issued a resolution condemning Hamas’ use of civilians as human shields in its war against Israel.
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