Gaza [Palestine], April 2: Palestinian movement Hamas accused the United States on Monday of being responsible for the devastation Israeli troops left in the wake of their operation at the al-Shifa Hospital, the largest hospital complex in the Gaza Strip.
"We hold the American administration and President Biden personally fully responsible for the crimes, massacres, and systematic destruction of civilian life in the Gaza Strip, especially the health sector and hospitals," the group said in a statement.
This comes shortly after Israel announced the end of a two-week raid on the hospital, which was already barely functional and filled with people seeking shelter from Israeli airstrikes when the siege began. The Israeli military said it killed more than 200 militants at the hospital after accusing Hamas of using it as a headquarters.
Hamas argued that Israel's "genocidal" military campaign was being carried out with "full and unlimited support" from Washington. It said Israeli attacks against Palestinian health care system were occurring "with American weapons and all forms of military and political support."
"We call on the international community and the United Nations to condemn this terrible crime committed by the criminal Zionist enemy against the al-Shifa Complex, its surroundings, and the citizens therein," Hamas said, adding it should bring those responsible to justice.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the UN's World Health Organization, reiterated on Monday that hospitals must be "respected and protected." He estimated that 21 patients died during the two-week siege of the al-Shifa hospital, while 107 others were sheltering in what was left of the facility. (Sputnik)
Source: Qatar Tribune