Netanyahu: Hamas has rejected Israel's request to provide fuel to Shifa Hospital

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on Sunday, November 12, that Hamas has rejected his country's request to provide fuel to Shifa Hospital in Gaza. The hospital has suspended its operations due to a lack of fuel. In an interview with NBC News, Netanyahu responded to a question about whether the presence of Hamas command under Shifa Hospital justifies endangering the lives of patients and children, saying, "In fact, last night we offered them enough fuel for the operation of the [Shifa] hospital, incubators for premature infants, etc., because we have no war with patients or civilians." When asked if Israel had a plan to provide fuel to hospitals in Gaza, he reiterated, "We offered fuel to Shifa Hospital; they rejected it." Netanyahu added, "Hamas, which hides in hospitals and places itself there, does not want fuel for the hospital... They take the fuel from the hospitals to their tunnels and war machines." As the conflict escalates between the Israeli army and Hamas, particularly around Shifa Hospital in Gaza, Israel announced its readiness to evacuate children from this hospital on Sunday. The Israeli army's Persian-language account on social media X reported a phone call between a senior army officer and the head of Shifa Hospital in Arabic, stating that "possible evacuation routes from the hospital" have been presented to him in recent days. The Israeli army has stated that doctors, patients, and thousands of displaced persons sheltering in northern Gaza hospitals must be evacuated to destroy Hamas operational centers beneath them. Hamas denies Israel's accusations of placing its command centers in Shifa and other hospitals. Shifa Hospital staff told Reuters that continuous bombing has persisted over the past 24 hours. Most of the hospital staff and individuals seeking refuge there have left, but 500 patients remain in the hospital. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization has expressed severe concerns for the safety of those trapped in Shifa Hospital, stating that it has lost contact with its communication channels in the hospital. The United States, the European Union, and Japan have designated the Iran-backed militant group Hamas as a terrorist organization.