According to the World Health Organization, Israel has carried out at least 250 attacks on health targets in the Gaza Strip. These are the data given by director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus this Friday. This figure surpasses the month-long bombing of Gaza and all the global attacks on health infrastructure in 2021. The global total for these attacks was 227. The International Committee of the Red Cross warns that Gaza’s health system has reached “a point of no return” and urges that health centers not be attacked.
The Israeli army’s punishment in retaliation for Hamas’ attacks on October 7 created a stir. damage to at least 39 medical facilities (hospitals and health centres) and 36 ambulances, according to figures provided by WHO this Tuesday. In these alone, at least 512 people died, out of a total of more than 11,000 people killed on the Strip.
A whole new rhythm damage to health facilities They point to this newspaper from Doctors Without Borders in the recent conflicts. “We have never seen anything like this before, with the Strip completely isolated and indiscriminate bombings against such a large population (2.2 million),” says MSF spokesperson Raquel González.
Israel attacked hospitals in Gaza
As the ground attack on the strip progresses, the rate at which Israel hits health centers also increases. It doubled in less than a week.
There are air or artillery attacks on Gaza’s health system almost every day.
This Friday, at least 13 people died and dozens were injured in the attack against the terrorist organization. Al Shifa hospital. The hospital director told AFP this Friday that “all hospitals in Gaza City were attacked by the Israeli army.” Israeli military spokesman Richard Hecht acknowledged the “sensitive” nature of such an operation, saying, “If we see Hamas terrorists opening fire from hospitals, we will do what we have to do (…), we will kill them.” Israel later said the al-Shifa deaths were caused by a failed Hamas rocket.
Thursday, Nasser Children’s Hospital in Gaza According to the World Health Organization, it was subjected to Israeli aerial bombardment. At least three people died and dozens were injured. On the same day, the area around Al-Shifa hospital, the largest in the Strip, came under another attack. Footage shows people appearing to be dead on the ground as shrapnel pierced the roof of the health centre’s day clinic.
“Only Gaza psychiatric hospital has stopped working [este jueves] “Due to the heavy damage sustained in the attack on 5 November, doctors were forced to discharge prisoners and suspend other services”, the United Nations says in its daily report on the damage to civilians and infrastructure in Gaza.
Wednesday, Jerusalem Hospital in Gaza It was forced to suspend operating room service, oxygen production facility and Magnetic Resonance after the main generator stopped due to lack of fuel. “There is also a serious shortage of baby milk, food and medicine,” says the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Half of the hospitals and two-thirds of the health centers had to close due to Israeli attacks. Only nine of UNRWA’s 22 health centers They continue to operate in the south. This Wednesday alone, they treated 6,530 patients.
Many cases of operations and amputations without anesthesia have been documented. There aren’t enough beds either. Images of the injured, mostly children, being cared for on the ground and doctors not even having water to wash their wounds are very common.
“Attacks on sensitive areas in Gaza must stop,” United Nations humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said. “According to international humanitarian law, hospitals must be protected.”
International medical personnel
“Our partner Mohammed Al Ahel and several members of his family lost their lives “Due to the bombings in Gaza,” MSF Spain reported this Tuesday. The humanitarian organization is one of the organizations based in the Strip to serve a population of 2.2 million. It has more than 300 employees in Gaza, the majority of whom are local .
Some employees of the NGO say that they decided to go to the south, where Israel established an evacuation zone, with their families, even though the bombings were very intense in that region. An MSF spokesperson explains: “Those who stay behind do so because of their medical commitment to treating the population.” “They stay as long as they can. Even though they know I’m at very high risk, they say; anesthesiologist, surgeon or doctor “I will stay to see what I can do for my community, my neighborhood and my neighbors.”
For several days, Israel has been informing international media and foreign ministries that it believes it is covered by this agreement. Al Shifa hospital There is an underground Hamas base that predicted the attack on the medical center.
“We have no evidence that Hamas militants are hiding in our facilities,” says MSF’s Raquel González. The MSF spokesperson concludes: “If we had seen them, we would have tried to approach them and demand that they not use the hospitals, just as we would have asked Israel not to bomb them.”
A hospital may lose its special protected status under International Law if it is used for actions that harm the enemy. “But there are underground tunnels does not deprive the hospital of this protected status. Even if the destruction of the land is legitimate, it should not affect the hospital and the damage to doctors and patients must be guaranteed to be minimized,” González claims.
More than 11,000 people died in Gaza due to Israeli bombardments in this 35-day war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. According to the region’s Ministry of Health sources, there are also approximately 27,500 injured. 1,400 Israelis died in Hamas’ attacks on October 7.