President Biden defended Israel’s raid of Gaza’s main hospital Wednesday, reiterating Israeli assertions that Hamas has used the medical facility as a control center to plan its attacks.
President Biden defended Israel’s raid of Gaza’s main hospital Wednesday, reiterating Israeli assertions that Hamas has used the medical facility as a control center to plan its attacks.
“You have a circumstance where the first war crime is being committed by Hamas by having their headquarters, their military, hidden under a hospital,” Biden said. “And that’s a fact.”
Israeli troops forced their way into the Al Shifa hospital — which was without power, oxygen, water or anesthesia, according to the BBC — in the early morning hours and went room to room searching for Hamas terrorists, weapons, plans or other evidence showing the group used the facility as its military headquarters.
The IDF said it carried out its raid “based on intelligence information and an operational necessity.” It shared videos and photos purporting to show automatic weapons, grenades and ammunition it said belonged to Hamas fighters that were stored in one of the hospital buildings.
Biden said he fully believes Israel’s claims.
“One thing that’s been established is that Hamas does have headquarters, weapons, materials below this hospital and I suspect others,” he said.
