Hamas cause of everything happening in Gaza – US State Department

The United States, US, has blamed the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip on Hamas.

US State Department spokesperson, Tammy Bruce said “all parties on the ground” in Gaza should comply with international humanitarian law.

Speaking with BBC, Bruce also refused to confirm if the department would probe Israeli military’s killing of 15 people including paramedics, civil defence workers and a UN official.

When asked about the killings, Bruce said: “Every single thing that happens in Gaza is happening because of Hamas.”

This comes as the United Nations, UN, humanitarian agency said five ambulances, a fire truck and a UN vehicle were struck “one by one” on 23 March, adding that 15 bodies, including paramedics still in their uniforms, had been gathered and buried in a mass grave.

Advertisement

Disclosing this, Jonathan Whittall, the head of the UN’s humanitarian agency in Gaza, said the mass grave had been “marked” with an emergency light from one of the ambulances hit in the strike.

In a video on X, he said “It’s an absolute horror what has happened here,” adding that “healthcare workers should never be a target”.

In March, Israel had renewed its air and ground attacks in Gaza after negotiations over a ceasefire deal with Hamas failed.

More than 1,000 people have since been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.