Blumenthal calls on Israel, US to release more intelligence on Gaza’s al-Shifa Hospital

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) on Sunday called on Israel and the United States to release more intelligence on the al-Shifa Hospital, which Israeli forces claimed was being used as a base for the militant group Hamas, a notion that the U.S. said it backs.

“But here is the key point that I think is so important. There needs to be more transparency. Both Israel and the United States need to release more of this intelligence,” Blumenthal told NBC’s Kristen Welker on “Meet the Press.”

“And there is reliable intelligence that can and should be released without compromising sources and methods that would bolster Israel’s case in the court of world opinion, and would also support the United States aiding Israel as it must do,” he continued.

The Israel Defense Forces said last week that its forces were carrying out an operation inside of al-Shifa hospital, the largest medical facility in Gaza. Israel released video of what appears to be weapons and military capabilities inside the hospital, claiming that it was evidence that Hamas was operating inside the hospital. Those reports have not been independently verified by news outlets, including The Associated Press, who have reporters on the ground.

He said that after he attends classified briefings, he says that the only people who do not know this intelligence “are the American people,” noting that the U.S.’s adversaries already know the information, and they know the U.S. knows the information.

The World Health Organization and the United Nations on Saturday sent a joint team to the hospital, which the team described as a “death zone.” President Biden also defended Israel’s move to operate inside the hospital, saying Hamas had committed the “first war crime” by making the health facility a command center of its military operations.