The Israeli military raided Gaza's largest hospital in its northern region early Wednesday in what it claimed was a targeted operation against Hamas.

According to various foreign media outlets, the military said it began an operation in specific areas of the Al-Shifa Hospital based on gathered intelligence, demanding that Hamas militants inside the complex surrender.

It added that its forces include medical personnel and Arabic interpreters as part of efforts to avoid harming civilians.

Earlier, Gaza's Hamas-controlled health ministry said Israel had notified it of plans to raid the hospital minutes in advance.

The hospital, in the center of Gaza City, has become the focal point of the ongoing war in its second month, with Israel claiming that Hamas is using civilians as human shields by concealing military assets in the facility and other hospitals, which the group has denied.

The White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said on Tuesday that the U.S. has unspecified intelligence that Hamas and other Palestinian militants use Al-Shifa, other hospitals and tunnels underneath them to support military operations and hold hostages.

Kirby said, however, that the U.S. does not support airstrikes on medical facilities and does not want to see "a firefight in a hospital where innocent people" are trying to receive care.