Israel says its forces have entered Gaza's Shifa hospital, the site of a lengthy standoff. The Israeli army had surrounded the facility as part of its ground offensive against Hamas, claiming the militant group conceals military operations in the hospital complex. But with hundreds of patients and medical personnel inside, it had refrained from entering. It said on Wednesday its forces were conducting a "precise" operation against Hamas in a specific area of the complex while taking steps to avoid harm to civilians. In a statement, the Israeli military said it had warned "the relevant authorities in Gaza once again that all military activities within the hospital must cease within 12 hours. Unfortunately, it did not."
Israel accuses Hamas of using hospitals as cover for its fighters, alleging that Hamas has set up its main command center in and beneath Shifa hospital, the largest in the besieged territory, the AP reports. Both Hamas and Shifa hospital staff deny the Israeli allegations. The US said Tuesday that it has unspecified intelligence that Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad use some hospitals in the Gaza Strip—including Shifa hospital—and tunnels underneath them to hide and to support their military operations and to hold hostages. The White House's national security council spokesperson, John Kirby, said the US does not support "striking a hospital from the air."
Kirby added that the US also does not want to see "a firefight in a hospital where innocent people, helpless people, sick people are simply trying to get the medical care that they deserve." Conditions at Shifa hospital deteriorated so badly in the days before Israeli forces entered that a World Health Organization spokesman described it as "nearly a cemetery." Thousands of people have been sheltering at the hospital, where authorities say patients, including premature babies, have been dying because of a lack of fuel for generators. The BBC reports that Hamas issued a statement blaming President Biden for the storming of the hospital, saying that the US had given Israel a "green light" by saying intelligence suggested it was used by the group.
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