Jeff Merkley, D-OR, stated on Thursday’s MSNBC “Andrea Mitchell Reports” that U.S. special envoy for Middle East humanitarian issues David Satterfield had told him that Hamas has tunnels beneath hospitals. However, “when a hospital is full of injured people, you cannot make it a target at any time.”

Andrea Mitchell, the host, said: “I can confirm that during the briefing with John Kirby today, when they announced this pause and agreement with Israel, John Kirby was also questioned about the continuing strikes against ambulances, hospitals, etc. He said there was always concern about the proportionality of any action taken against a hospital. He then repeated that this is against the laws of war. They’re trying to avoid criticizing Israel directly for this. “I have been told by Israelis that Israel has a central corps. I’m not sure if this is command and control. I’m not sure if the U.S. independently confirmed it, but there’s some independent confirmation. I’m not certain if there are Hamas under some of these hospitals.”

Merkley replied, “I have just finished a phone call with Ambassador Satterfield. He is the Middle East ambassador for humanitarian issues. He will tell you that based on all his years of experience he is certain there are tunnels under hospitals. He also said that a hospital with a lot of injured people cannot ever be a target.