US didn’t know about Israel raid on Shifa Hospital beforehand: White House

US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Wednesday that the United States did not sign off on Israel's raid on Shifa hospital.

Kirby, responding to questions about the timing of the operation and his statement that the U.S. knows Hamas militants shelter in hospitals, said the United States doesn't expect advance notice from Israel before its military operations.

“We did not give an OK to their military operations around the hospital,” Kirby said, speaking to reporters from San Francisco, where President Joe Biden was preparing to meet with China's leader on Wednesday.

“We don't expect the Israelis to inform us.” Kirby suggested the timing of his announcement about U.S. intelligence findings that Hamas uses hospitals for command and control and for shelter following the Israeli military operation was a coincidence. He said his delivery of some “downgraded” intelligence information “had nothing to do with operational timing.”

He said “it is a violation of the law of war to headquarter yourself in a hospital” and that what Hamas is doing in that regard should not be forgotten. (AP)