The army has previously surrounded the hospital as part of the ground offensive against Hamas. Israeli authorities claim that Hamas has a command center and stores weapons under the hospital. In the past, Israel has refrained from entering the hospital because there are many civilians who are either receiving treatment or have sought shelter in the building. But early on Wednesday, Israel’s military stated that it was carrying out a “precisely targeted operation against Hamas in a specific area” at the hospital. The military did not provide further details but said measures are being taken to avoid civilian casualties. Youssef Abul Reesh, who represents Gaza’s Hamas-controlled health authority, is inside the hospital and told the AFP news agency that he saw tanks inside the area and “dozens of soldiers inside the hospital’s emergency building and in the reception.” Has warned The IDF says in a statement that it has repeatedly warned in recent weeks that Hamas’s use of the hospital for military purposes jeopardizes its protected status under international law. “Yesterday, the IDF again communicated to the relevant authorities in Gaza that all military activity within the hospital area must cease within twelve hours. Unfortunately, it did not,” the IDF said in a statement. Hamas has denied using the hospital as a shelter and claimed in a statement on Wednesday that Israel and US President Joe Biden are responsible for a military operation on Gaza’s largest hospital. “We hold President Biden of the occupying power (Israel) fully responsible for the attack on al-Shifa hospital,” says Hamas. Direct responsibility On Tuesday, the White House made a statement, saying that through a series of intelligence methods it had concluded that Hamas has a military command center under the hospital with weapons storage. Labeled as a terrorist, Hamas then said that the White House’s move gave Israel the go-ahead to carry out a “brutal massacre” in the al-Shifa hospital. “The United States bears direct responsibility for enabling Israel’s genocidal war against Gaza,” Hamas wrote in a statement in English on Tuesday. The Islamist extremist group added that the aim is to destroy Gaza’s healthcare system and force Palestinians to flee.
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