State Department Spox Blames ‘Every Single Thing’ Happening in Gaza on Hamas When Questioned on Israel’s Killing of Paramedics

Andrew Thomas/NurPhoto via AP

State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce on Monday suggested that Hamas bore the responsibility for Israel’s reported killing of 15 paramedics in Gaza.

A team of paramedics recently went missing while on a mission to retrieve casualties from the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip. When that team did not return, additional teams were sent in to rescue them. On Sunday, the Israeli military confirmed it had opened fire on their vehicle or “advancing suspiciously” toward them.

Israeli officials also claimed the attack killed a Hamas operative named Mohammed Amin Shobaki, as well as eight other militants. As noted in a report from The Associated Press, however, no one by that name was identified among the dead and the military had not responded to requests for the names of the other alleged militants.

In total, eight members of Red Crescent, six members of Gaza’s Civil Defense emergency unit, and a staffer from UNRWA were killed. The bodies were found in a mass grave.

When asked about the attack and the possibility that American weapons could have been used, Bruce deflected and instead detailed Hamas’s role in the broader conflict.

“Well, I can tell you that for too long, Hamas has abused civilian infrastructure, cynically using it to shield themselves,” Bruce said. “Hamas’s actions have caused humanitarians to be caught in the crossfire. The use of civilians or civilian objects to shield or impede military operations is itself a violation of international humanitarian law; and, of course, we expect all parties on the ground to comply with international humanitarian law.”

Pressed again on the specific incident involving the paramedics, Bruce plainly stated that Hamas is to blame for “every single thing” happening in the region.

“Well, every single thing that is happening in Gaza is happening because of Hamas,” Bruce said. “Every single dynamic. I’ll say again. I’ve said it, I think, in every briefing. All of this could stop in a moment if Hamas returned all the hostages — and the hostage bodies they are still holding — and put down its weapons. There is one — one — entity that could stop it for everyone in a moment; and that is Hamas.”

“All loss of life is regrettable. It’s key, obviously — whoever it is, wherever they live — and this has been the nature of what fuels Secretary Rubio and President Trump in their willingness to expend this kind of capital early on in this term to make a difference and to change the situation. So I think that is the one thing that remains clear in all of this, which is for all of us, which is why we work to stop it. A horrible dynamic,” she continued.

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