Thousands of patients and civilians are believed to be sheltering at Gaza's Al-Shifa hospital, which has come under siege from Israeli forces.

We've just seen the first comments from the White House on Israel's raid on Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza.

"We do not support striking a hospital from the air and we don't want to see a firefight in a hospital where innocent people, helpless people, sick people trying to get medical care they deserve are caught in the crossfire," said a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council.

They reiterated President Biden's comments earlier on Tuesday that hospitals and patients must be protected.

Thousands of patients and  civilians are believed to be sheltering at Gaza's Al-Shifa hospital, which has come under siege from Israeli forces.

The estimates vary however. The WHO had earlier on Tuesday said there were about 700 patients, 400 hospital staff and 3,000 civilians at Al-Shifa.

The Hamas-run health ministry has said there are at least 2,300 people still inside the hospital - up to 650 patients, 200-500 staff and around 1,500 civilians.

Read more about Al-Shifa and other Gaza hospitals that are on the frontlines of the ongoing conflict here.

Earlier we received an update from Khader Zaanoun, an eyewitness inside Al-Shifa hospital.

This is the latest from him:

“I saw six tanks inside the hospital and more than a hundred commandos soldiers, they entered the main emergency department, some of the soldiers were masked and screamed in Arabic 'don’t move don’t move'."

The BBC has not been able to independently verify the 





We are hearing from the White House that US President Biden and Israeli PM Netanyahu have had a phone call discussion.

In a statement, the White House said both leaders "discussed at length ongoing efforts to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas, including many children and a number of Americans".

The US is still yet to comment on the Israeli forces' raid at the hospital. We'll get more to you as more lines emerge.

Biden had earlier on Tuesday said the hospital must be protected.

  1. The US is still yet to comment on the Israeli forces' raid at the hospital. We'll get more to you as more lines emerge.

    Biden had earlier on Tuesday said the hospital must be protected.

    We reported earlier that the IDF confirmed that it is carrying out “precise and targeted operations against Hamas in a specified area in the Al-Shifa Hospital, based on intelligence information”.

    In a post on X, the IDF also added that it "has publicly warned time and again that Hamas' continued military use of the Al-Shifa hospital jeopardizes its protected status under international law, and enabled ample time to stop this unlawful abuse of the hospital,” it continued.

    Al-Shifa is the largest hospital in Gaza, and both Israel and the US claim that Hamas has a command base under it - which Hamas denies.

    The statement also called on “all Hamas terrorists present in the hospital to surrender” while reiterating that the IDF had “facilitated wide-scale evacuations” of the complex.

    The BBC could not immediately verify the Israeli report.

    Aid workers say the situation inside Al-Shifa is “dire” and the Hamas-run health ministry says there are thousands of people using the complex to shelter from Israeli bombing.

    The facility is also running out of fuel, officials say, which has made it near impossible for staff to help patients in need of emergency care - including premature babies that have been taken off incubators due to power cuts, doctors say.

    Earlier, one doctor told the BBC that about 200 people have been buried in a mass grave at Al-Shifa, after decomposing corpses piled up in the hospital complex.

    Source:BBC