Published By: Saurabh Verma
Last Updated: November 15, 2023, 23:06 IST
Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)
The White House on Tuesday backed up Israeli claims that Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants had a command center under the Al Shifa hospital in Gaza. (Reuters file)
Biden spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday but Kirby declined to say whether the US president had been given forewarning of the offensive
The United States did not give Israel any kind of green light for its raid on Gaza’s main hospital, the White House said Wednesday, adding that such decisions were for the Israeli military.
“We did not give an OK to their military operations around the hospital,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters after Hamas said President Joe Biden was “wholly responsible” for the raid.
Israeli forces pushed into Gaza City’s Al-Shifa hospital in the early hours of the morning, raising fears for the safety of thousands of patients, staff and other civilians trapped inside.
Biden spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday but Kirby declined to say whether the US president had been given forewarning of the offensive.
“I won’t go into detail about the conversation,” he said, adding however that “there’s no expectation by the United States to map it all out.”
The United States had “certainly talked to them about concerns over civilians.”
The White House on Tuesday backed up Israeli claims that Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants had a command center under the Al Shifa hospital in Gaza.
“We are comfortable with our own intelligence assessment,” Kirby said on Wednesday.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – AFP)
