White House reiterates opposition to airstrikes on hospitals as Israeli troops enter Al-Shifa

This handout satellite picture released by Maxar Technologies on November 12, 2023, shows the damage around Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City's al-Rimal district. (Satellite image ©2023 Maxar Technologies/AFP)
SAN FRANCISCO — Hospitals and the patients inside them “must be protected,” the White House says when asked about an operation by its ally Israel, which has sent troops into Gaza’s largest hospital, Al-Shifa.
“We won’t speak to the specifics of an ongoing Israeli military operation. As we’ve said, we do not support striking a hospital from the air and we don’t want to see a firefight in a hospital where innocent people, helpless people, sick people trying to get medical care they deserve are caught in the crossfire. Hospitals and patients must be protected,” a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council says.