White House expresses concern about resurgence of Hamas presence in Shifa Hospital

Pressed to condemn Israel for the counterterror operation it finished earlier today at Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre points out that Hamas continues to operate within hospitals and other civilian infrastructure.

“We’re concerned by how Hamas appears to have been able to reconstitute in a hospital so quickly” after Israel already cleared the medical center of terror operatives in the earlier months of the war, Jean-Pierre says.

She clarifies that the US does not want to see firefights in hospitals and reports of civilians killed at Shifa are “deeply concerning,” if proven accurate. The press secretary adds that the US is reaching out to Israel to receive more information regarding what unfolded during the latest operation in and around Shifa.

During the raid, which began March 18, the IDF said troops captured some 900 suspects, of which more than 500 were confirmed to be terror operatives, and killed more than 200 gunmen. Among those killed and detained were top commanders in Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Valuable intelligence was also seized, the army said.