Jean-Pierre Says ‘We Also Have to Call Out Hamas Here’ When Asked About Alleged Civilian Deaths in Gaza’s Shifa Hospital

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked about allegations of civilian deaths and human rights abuses following Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza’s largest hospital on Monday. The IDF left the Shifa hospital after a two-week raid in which it claimed some 200 militants were killed in fierce fighting that left much of the complex in ruin.

“So look, Hamas should not, should not be operating out of a hospital. We have said that, we’ve said that over and over again and putting civilians at risk. That’s what we’re seeing. And we are concerned by how Hamas appears, they appear to have been able to reconstitute in a hospital so quickly,” Jean-Pierre said, adding:

So we’ve always also made clear that we continue to support Israel’s right to defend itself. But as we’ve also said, we do not want firefights in a hospital where innocent people, people, homeless people, people seeking medical care are caught in the crossfire. We don’t want to see that. We have urged Israel to take every step to avoid civilian casualties. And this just points to how challenging Israel’s military operation is, because Hamas has intentionally embedded themselves into into civilian infrastructure.

Jean-Pierre concluded by saying that the U.S. had reached out to the Israeli government for more information regarding allegations of civilian deaths in the hospital and was working to verify what exactly happened. The reporter pressed Jean-Pierre again on the question to which she said, “We also have to call out Hamas here” and repeated her condemnation of Hamas “embedding themselves into civilian population.”

“At least 21 patients died during the raid, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus posted late Sunday on X, formerly Twitter,” reported the AP on Monday, adding:

He said over 100 patients were still inside the compound during the operation, including four children, 28 critical patients and many who suffered from infected wounds and dehydration.

The military denied that its forces harmed any civilians inside the compound. Israel has accused Hamas of using hospitals for military purposes and has raided many hospitals across the territory.

Watch the full clip above (starts around 23:30).