Repeated Israeli attacks on Gaza hospitals and nearby facilities have brought Gaza’s health system to its knees, according to a report issued on Tuesday by the UN human rights office.
The 19-page report finds that Israel’s “method of deadly attacks” on and near hospitals “has led to the destruction of many hospitals in Gaza,” leading to ongoing fighting in and around many hospitals. it and “pushing the health care system to the brink. of complete collapse.”
“The situation has worsened to a dangerous level as of October 2023, as this already damaged health system has been targeted for the killing of hundreds of health and medical professionals,” the report’s authors assert. .
The report covers the period from October 7, 2023 – when Hamas militants launched a terrorist attack on Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostages – until June 30, 2024.
Hamas has been designated as a terrorist group by the United States, Britain and other Western countries.
During this period, the report records at least 136 strikes in at least 27 hospitals and 12 other medical centers, which means that there are many casualties among medical workers and citizens and cause great damage, “if it It’s a total waste of public services.”
“This report provides clear details of the damage to the health system in Gaza, and the extent of the killing of patients, workers and other civilians in these attacks in disregard of international humanitarian law and human rights,” Volker Türk , the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a statement accompanying the release of the report.
He said the report raises serious concerns about Israel’s compliance with international law. It states that medical and hospital workers are particularly protected under international humanitarian law, “provided they do not commit, or are employed to commit, outside of their personal duties, acts harmful to the enemy .”
“As if the constant bombardment and poor humanitarian situation in Gaza were not enough, the one sanctuary where Palestinians were supposed to feel safe has in fact become a death trap ,” Türk said. “Hospital security in times of war is essential and must be respected by all sides, at all times.”
Israel’s response
Israel has strongly denied these allegations. In an 11-page response, the Permanent Mission of Israel in Geneva described this “fourth major report” by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights as one of many examples of “the persistence of OHCHR to insult Israel.”
It accused the agency of dismissing “clear evidence of Hamas military activities in health facilities” and “unwillingness to acknowledge Hamas’ misuse of Gazan medical facilities for terrorist purposes.”
The Permanent Mission called the method used in the OHCHR report “grossly flawed.” It criticized the agency’s reliance on “unreliable sources” and justified its attacks on hospitals on the grounds that these health care facilities were being used by Palestinian armed groups.
“There is a lot of evidence about Hamas’ terrorist activity in medical facilities,” the Permanent Mission said. “Hamas has installed its tunnel system and buildings inside the medical facilities as a strategy and to use them as a weapons depot and accessible headquarters for its operatives.”
OHCHR reports that attacks on hospitals have occurred in every area where the Israeli army has carried out ground operations since November 2023 with the attack on Al-Shifa Medical Complex and other hospitals in Gaza City.
The attacks continue to this day. The report says “the horrific destruction caused by the Israeli army’s attacks on Kamal Adwan hospital last Friday – which left residents of North Gaza without access to health care – shows a pattern of attacks that recorded in the report.”
In response to the attack on Kamal Adwan’s hospital, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA, warned on Monday of the ongoing attacks across the Gaza Strip and Kamal’s hospital plane Adwan, warns that “people’s very means of self-defense. salvation is being eliminated.”
According to the World Health Organization, 15 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are still “partially functioning,” nine in the south and six in the north.
“The health system is in grave danger,” said Tedros Adhanan Gebgreyesus, WHO director-general, noting that “Gaza hospitals have become a battlefield.”
The OHCHR report finds that an increasingly fragile health care system prevents many at risk of infection from receiving timely and potentially life-saving treatment. It says attacks on Gaza hospitals also have serious consequences for patients with “non-lethal, potentially fatal conditions.”
“Women, especially pregnant women, have suffered a lot. “Many women give birth with little or no antenatal and postnatal care, which increases the risk of preventing maternal and child diseases,” it said. It added that people suffering from chronic diseases, such as kidney failure, hypertension, diabetes and heart disease, are also unable to receive their treatment, “putting them at risk of worsening and dying.”
The report’s authors say, “Deliberate attacks against hospitals and places where the sick and wounded are treated, as long as they are not military targets…
It added that “Under certain circumstances, the deliberate destruction of health facilities may amount to a form of collective punishment, which may also constitute a war crime.”
The head of human rights Türk calls for an independent, thorough and transparent investigation of all these events, “and full responsibility for the violation of international human rights and human rights that occurred.”
In response to this appeal, Israel’s Permanent Representative in Geneva said, “The State of Israel confirms its obligations under international law, and remains committed to examining and investigating any exceptional incidents.” in its established ways.”
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