Gaza hospitals on ‘brink of total collapse’ due to Israeli attacks: UN | News about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
UN report says Israeli claims that Palestinian armed groups are using Gaza hospitals for military purposes “vague” continuation of Israeli attacks on healthcare institutions protected by international law.
The report – released on Tuesday by the UN human rights office – said Israeli strikes on hospitals and their surroundings in the Gaza Strip had pushed the territory’s health system “to the brink of total collapse with a catastrophic effect on Palestinians’ access to health and medical care.” .
The 23-page report covered the period from October 7, 2023 to June 30, 2024.
During that time, there were at least 136 attacks on 27 hospitals and 12 other medical facilities, causing significant casualties among doctors, nurses, paramedics and other civilians, while causing significant damage, if not total destruction, to civilian infrastructure.
‘Death Trap’
The report pointed out that international humanitarian law expressly protects medical personnel and hospitals as long as they do not participate in or are used to commit acts harmful to the enemy outside of their humanitarian function.
“So far, there is not enough publicly available information to support these allegations, which remain vague and broad, and in some cases appear to contradict publicly available information,” the UN report said.
Deliberate destruction of health facilities “could constitute a form of collective punishment, which would also constitute a war crime,” it added.
“The only haven where Palestinians were supposed to feel safe has actually become a death trap,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk. “The protection of hospitals during wartime is paramount and must be respected by all parties at all times.”
In recent days, Israel has escalated attacks on the besieged Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gaza, the detention of its director.
The World Health Organization said Kamal Adwan HospitalThe remaining 15 critical patients, 50 caregivers and 20 health workers were transferred on Friday to a nearby Indonesian hospital, which they described as “destroyed and dysfunctional”.
Hamas rejected Israel’s claim that its members operated from the hospital throughout the period 15-month war in Gazasaying that there were no fighters there.
Former Israeli diplomat Alon Pinkas told Al Jazeera that even if his country provided evidence to support claims that Hamas used medical facilities for military operations, it would not justify attacks on hospitals.
“There is a discrepancy between the big headlines … and the failure to come up with the evidence to support it,” he said.
While the Israeli military said more than 250 Hamas fighters were arrested at the Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gaza, Pinkas noted that even if that were true, it still “doesn’t justify putting the hospital inoperable.”
Transparent investigation
The report called for credible, independent investigations into the attacks on health facilities, highlighting the “limitations” of Israel’s justice system in dealing with the actions of its armed forces.
“It is critical that there are independent, thorough and transparent investigations into all these incidents and full accountability for all violations of international humanitarian and human rights law that have occurred,” Turk said.
He also urged that “all medical workers who are arbitrarily detained must be released immediately”.
“It must also be a priority for Israel, as the occupying power, to ensure and facilitate access to adequate health care for the Palestinian population,” Turk said.
Israel’s war against Gaza has killed more than 45,500 people mostly civilians in the besieged area, according to the Ministry of Health.
