The White House confirmed that the United States did not give Israel any type of approval or green light for its raid on Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza.

John Kirby, Strategic Communications Coordinator at the National Security Council, said in a phone call with reporters on Wednesday that the United States "did not approve the operations conducted by the Israeli army around Al-Shifa Hospital in the Gaza Strip, and we did not give our approval for the operation," stressing that the United States maintains the same approach regarding other military decisions made by Israel.

Kirby added: "We have always been very clear with our Israeli partners about the importance of minimizing civilian casualties. We have also been very clear with them about the need to exercise particular caution when it comes to hospitals."

President Joe Biden had contacted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday evening, and a brief White House statement said the conversation progressed to recent developments in Gaza and efforts to secure a hostage release deal with Hamas, including a large number of children and several Americans.

Kirby refused to say whether the American president had received prior information about the Israeli operation, saying: "I will not get into the details of the conversation."

This shift in the White House position comes after it supported Israeli claims that "Hamas" has a command center affiliated with Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza.

Kirby told reporters accompanying President Biden to the APEC summit in San Francisco: "I can confirm that we have information indicating that (Hamas) and (Islamic Jihad) have used some hospitals in Gaza, including Al-Shifa Hospital and the tunnels underneath, to hide and support military operations and hold hostages.

He added that the leaders of the two movements run a command and control point from Al-Shifa Hospital, and have stored weapons there," Kirby emphasized: "The Biden administration does not support striking the hospital from the air." He also said: "The administration also does not want to see civilians seeking treatment trapped in a firefight inside the hospital."

In a related matter, a poll indicated that despite Americans' sympathy for Israel in its war against Hamas, a growing number of Americans perceive Israel’s response as excessively violent and harsh. The number of Americans feeling the severity of Israeli operations in Gaza has increased compared to last month.

The results of the poll conducted by National Public Radio and National Public Radio Services with the Marist Institute for Public Opinion showed that 38 percent of Americans see the Israeli military response to Hamas as "over the top." This represents a 12 percentage point increase since October, and American opinions varied over whether the United States should play a major role in global events, including Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine and the recent outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas.

Thirty-six percent of Americans said the country should not approve further war funding for Ukraine or Israel, while 35 percent said the United States should support additional funding in both countries. About half of Republicans and a majority of independents said the United States "should take a limited role in foreign policy matters," and about half of Americans considered it important for the United States to play a leading major role in global affairs. At the same time, 47 percent said the United States has enough domestic problems to manage and should do less on the global stage.

The poll indicated that 6 out of 10 Americans say their sympathy lies mostly with Israel, while 3 out of 10 say they are more sympathetic to the Palestinians. Fifty-five percent said they do not approve of Biden’s leadership in this war. Some of the opposition and deep rejection came from Republicans, independents, and those under 45 years of age, while 40 percent of Americans approved of Biden’s handling of the situation. This included 60 percent of Democrats and 50 percent of white college graduates. Eight out of 10 Americans said they fear this war will lead to a rise in hate crimes in the United States.

Analysts pointed to a significant divide in American society; between a camp strongly supporting Israel, and another strongly supporting the Palestinian side. FBI Director Christopher Wray issued repeated warnings about rising violence between students on university campuses from both camps and heightened concerns about crimes classified under anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.

It is noted that Israeli radio clarified that the occupation forces have not found hostages inside the Al-Shifa medical complex so far, adding that Israeli search operations are continuing inside the complex in the Gaza Strip.

In the same context, the Israeli occupation army confirmed that it is continuing meticulous search operations inside Al-Shifa Hospital, as this complex is considered one of the largest hospitals in the Strip.

Omar Zaqout, emergency supervisor at Al-Shifa Hospital, stated that the Israeli occupation detained many displaced persons who were blindfolded, stripped of their clothes, and taken to an unknown location.