Stuti Mishra
The Independent / December 30, 2024
Israeli forces struck a medical facility and raided another in northern Gaza over the weekend and ordered Palestinians remaining in Beit Hanoun area to leave.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has called for an end to attacks on Gaza’s hospitals after Israeli forces struck a medical facility and raided another over the weekend.
Noting that hospitals in the besieged Palestinian territory have “once again become battlegrounds”, WHO chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for an immediate ceasefire and unhindered access to healthcare for the Palestinian people.
“The health system is under severe threat. We repeat: stop attacks on hospitals,” he said on Monday. “People in Gaza need access to health care. Humanitarians need access to provide health aid. Ceasefire!”
The WHO chief’s remarks came after Israeli forces struck Gaza City’s Al-Wafa Hospital on Sunday, killing seven people, according to the Palestinian civil defence.
The Israeli forces claimed the strike targeted Hamas militants operating a command centre within the hospital.
Earlier, on Friday, Israeli forces raided the Kamal Adwan hospital, one of the last remaining health facilities in northern Gaza, and detained patients and medical staff, according to Gaza’s health authorities.
The military claimed they interrogated 950 people during the raid and found 240 to be militants. The hospital’s director, Hussam Abu Safiya, was detained for questioning as he was suspected of being a “Hamas operative”, the military alleged.
The Israeli raid rendered the hospital non-operational and left northern Gaza with a solitary functioning medical facility.
Israeli forces, meanwhile, ordered the remaining residents of Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza to leave, triggering a fresh wave of displacement.
The area, under Israeli siege since October, is now almost entirely depopulated, with 325,000 people having fled south in recent months.
The WHO said it delivered emergency supplies to the Indonesian Hospital in north Gaza and moved 10 critically ill patients to Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Four patients were detained by the Israeli military during the transfer, the WHO chief said and urged Israel to uphold their healthcare needs and rights.
“Seven patients along with 15 caregivers and health workers remain at the severely damaged Indonesian Hospital, which has no ability to provide care,” he added.
The Israeli war on Gaza has left its healthcare system and humanitarian infrastructure in a state of near-total collapse. Freezing winter conditions have worsened the situation for the 2.3 million people of the Palestinian territory, most of whom are displaced and living in squalid conditions.
At least 45,514 Palestinians have been killed and over 108,000 wounded since Israel launched its military assault on Gaza following a Hamas attack that killed over 1,150 Israelis last October, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
Gaza’s officials accuse Israel of deliberately blocking aid deliveries, an accusation Israel denies. Israel continues to insist its military actions are necessary to target Hamas militants and prevent them from regrouping.
Palestinian authorities and international human rights organisations say Israel is enforcing a “surrender or starve” campaign aimed at depopulating northern Gaza.
The WHO chief’s call for a ceasefire has since been echoed by several global leaders and humanitarian groups that have warned of the devastating consequences of continued violence in Gaza.
“The scientific evidence of the lethal toll this conflict is taking on people and planet is incontrovertible,” he said.
Stuti Mishra is Asia correspondent at The Independent
