WASHINGTON – The Biden administration expressed its condemnation on Tuesday regarding Israeli airstrikes on a hospital compound in Gaza that ignited a nearby tent settlement housing displaced Palestinians.

The attack, which occurred on Monday night, tragically resulted in the deaths of at least four Palestinians and left many others, including children, injured. Survivors were seen scrambling from burning tents, with videos depicting horrifying scenes, including a man reportedly burned alive.

“The footage and images showing what appear to be civilians engulfed in flames after an Israeli air strike are profoundly troubling, and we have communicated our concerns to the Israeli authorities,” stated Sean Savett, a spokesperson for the National Security Council.

“Israel must make greater efforts to minimize civilian harm – the events that occurred here are ghastly, notwithstanding Hamas’s alleged use of civilians as human shields around the hospital,” Savett added.

The Israeli military directed its airstrikes at militants they claimed were operating from a command and control center located in a parking area near the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, a central Gaza city where many residents had taken shelter.

According to the Israeli military, a fire broke out in the hospital’s parking lot shortly after the airstrike, presumably caused by secondary explosions. “This incident is currently under investigation,” they remarked.

The military asserted that the hospital and its operations were not impacted by the airstrike and stated they are implementing various measures to reduce the risk of civilian harm, such as utilizing precision-guided weapons, aerial surveillance, and enhanced intelligence gathering.

This attack occurred as Israeli forces intensified their operations in northern Gaza, with tanks advancing to the northern perimeter of Gaza City, heavily bombarding parts of the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, prompting numerous families to evacuate their homes, according to residents.

Videos shared on social media captured scenes of tents ablaze while some Palestinians attempted in vain to extinguish the fires. Clips depicted firefighters and volunteers battling the flames with hoses and buckets, and medical staff searching through the wreckage for victims.

Survivors spoke to The New York Times, recalling that following the airstrike, they immediately felt the heat from a rapidly spreading fire, exacerbated by cooking gas canisters and plastic tents igniting. They reported that this was the seventh instance of the hospital being targeted.