US does not want to see firefights in Gaza hospitals

The United States wants to avoid armed fighting inside hospitals in the Gaza Strip, which endangers the lives of civilians, and has conveyed its view to Israeli forces, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told CBS News on Sunday.

“The United States does not want to see firefights in hospitals where innocent people, patients receiving medical care, are caught in the crossfire and we’ve had active consultations with the Israeli Defense Forces on this,” Sullivan told CBS News’ “Face the Nation” program.

Israel’s army said it was ready to evacuate babies from Gaza’s largest hospital, but Palestinian officials said people were still trapped inside it, with two newborns dead and dozens at risk from a power outage amid intense fighting nearby.

Al-Shifa and other hospitals in northern Gaza, the focus of Israel’s month-old war to wipe out Hamas and free hostages held by the militants, are barely able to care for patients. More people are wounded daily by fierce Israeli bombardment.

Sullivan said that open-source information indicated that “Hamas is using hospitals as it uses many other civilian facilities, for command and control, for weapons storage, to house its fighters. And this is a violation of the laws of war.”

He also said the United States continues to move U.S. citizens out of Gaza.

“The gate has been open and closed. The lists have included Americans some days and not other days. But the bottom line is, today the gate is open. We are moving American citizens and their families members out,” he said.