San Francisco, California - The United States did not give Israel any kind of green light for its raid on Gaza's main hospital, the White House said Wednesday, adding that such decisions were for the Israeli military.

"We did not give an OK to their military operations around the hospital," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters after Hamas said President Joe Biden was "wholly responsible" for the raid.

Israeli forces pushed into Gaza City's Al-Shifa hospital in the early hours of the morning, raising fears for the safety of thousands of patients, staff, and other civilians trapped inside.

Biden spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday but Kirby declined to say whether the president had been given forewarning of the offensive.

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"I won't go into detail about the conversation," he said, adding however that "there's no expectation by the United States to map it all out."

The United States had "certainly talked to them about concerns over civilians."

The White House on Tuesday backed up unproven Israeli claims that Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants had a command center under the Al Shifa hospital in Gaza.

"We are comfortable with our own intelligence assessment," Kirby said on Wednesday.