US accuses Hamas of using Gaza's civilian infrastructure for attacks on Israel

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The US on Friday accused Hamas of misusing civilian infrastructure, including schools and hospitals, to store weapons and carry out attacks against Israel.

Under international law, schools and hospitals must be zones of peace, where civilians are given protection even in times of conflict.

“Hamas continues, day in and day out, to put civilians in harm's way through their tactics and use of these facilities,” US deputy ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea told the Security Council, as ceasefire talks to end the Israel-Gaza war resumed in Qatar.

The US envoy urged council members to condemn Hamas for their actions and “call them out” for continuing to put Palestinian civilians in Gaza in the crosshairs. “Israel's fight is with Hamas and not the Palestinian civilians the terrorist group falsely purports to represent,” she added.

The Israeli army said on Friday that it had struck dozens of Hamas gathering points and command centres throughout Gaza over the past day. The UN Security Council convened for an emergency meeting at the request of Algeria to discuss Israel’s recent raid of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza.

Israel's military said it had killed more than 20 suspected militants and detained more than 240 people, including the hospital's director, Dr Hussam Abu Safiya.

In a message to the UN high commissioner for human rights, Volker Turk, Israel's diplomatic mission in Geneva said that the hospital had been used by Hamas for military purposes, and Israeli operations were conducted with utmost caution to minimise civilian casualties, based on credible intelligence.

Mr Turk highlighted the gravity of the claims, which if confirmed, would suggest serious breaches of international law by Palestinian armed groups. However, he noted the lack of detailed evidence from Israel to back these claims.

“In some cases, they appear to be contradicted by publicly available information,” Mr Turk said. A report published on Tuesday by the UN Human Rights Office said “insufficient information” has been made available to substantiate Israeli accusations of military use of hospitals.

Tanya Haj Hassan, a doctor working in Gaza, joined via video call during the Security Council meeting at the UN headquarters in New York. She told the Security Council that Israel’s crimes are “beyond brutal”.

“No one is stopping Israel. They do whatever they want without any consequences. There's no such thing as international law or the law only applies to certain parts of the world, and not to us,” she said.

Israel's military has regularly accused Hamas of using hospitals as command centres, which the militant group denies. The Israeli army has conducted intense raids in Gaza's north since October, saying it is an effort to prevent Hamas militants from regrouping there.