The fact that the Islamist extremist group has a command and control center under the hospital is substantiated by the White House “after a series of intelligence methods”.
– They (Hamas) have stored weapons there and they are prepared to respond to an Israeli military action against the building, says John Kirby, spokesman for the US National Security Council.
At the same time, Kirby emphasizes that the intelligence does not change the US view that Israel must be more restrained in the army’s actions, and that hospitals and patients must be protected.
– We do not support an attack on the hospital from the air.
Hamas denies
Israel has previously claimed that the extremist group had military facilities within the hospital area.
Hamas, in turn, has consistently denied using the hospital grounds for military purposes, and international pressure on Israel has urged the Israeli military not to attack the hospital.
The reports from inside al-Shifa hospital, which is Gaza’s largest, tell of a catastrophic situation. Doctors tell how they have to dig mass graves outside the hospital buildings to bury the dead.
According to a doctor, around 180 people, including children, have been buried there. These are people who have died in the hospital’s intensive care unit after the fuel running the hospital ran out.
– There are bodies scattered in the hospital facility and there is no longer electricity in the morgues, says hospital director Mohammad Abu Salmiyah.
Occupies more seats
At the same time, there are reports that the Israeli military is occupying more and more important places in the city of Gaza.
Already on Monday, Israeli media published images showing how a large group of Israeli soldiers posed in the parliament building in Gaza City.
The Israeli military confirms it has taken control of the parliament building, but also the area’s government building, a police headquarters and a site described as a sort of weapons factory.
It is not clear whether the takeovers of these particular buildings were in any way fortified by Hamas forces or whether they were preceded by any major battles.