Gaza hospitals on the brink of total collapse from Israel’s attacks: UN | Israel-Palestine conflict news

A UN report says Israel’s claims that Gaza hospitals are being used for military purposes by Palestinian armed groups are “vague” in the middle. continue Israeli attacks on health facilities protected by international law.

The report – published on Tuesday by the UN human rights office – said that Israeli strikes targeting hospitals and surrounding areas in the Gaza Strip have pushed the territory’s health system “to the ‘brink of a total collapse with a catastrophic effect on Palestinians’ access to health and medical care.’

The 23-page report looked at the period from October 7, 2023 to June 30, 2024.

During this time, there have been at least 136 attacks on 27 hospitals and 12 other medical facilities, inflicting significant casualties among doctors, nurses, medics and other civilians while causing significant damage to, if not complete destruction of, civilian infrastructure.

“A Death Trap”

The report highlighted that international humanitarian law explicitly protects medical personnel and hospitals, as long as they are not engaged in or are not used to commit acts harmful to the enemy outside of their humanitarian function.

“Until now, insufficient information has been made publicly available to support these allegations, which have remained vague and broad, and in some cases appear to be contradicted by publicly available information,” the UN report said.

The deliberate destruction of health facilities “can be a form of collective punishment, which also constitutes a war crime,” he added.

“The only sanctuary where Palestinians should feel safe has in fact become a death trap,” said the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk. “The protection of hospitals during war is paramount and must be respected by all sides at all times.”

In recent days, Israel has intensified attacks on the besieged Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, arrest 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 the nearby Indonesian Hospital, which he described as “destroyed and non-functional”.

Hamas has rejected Israel’s claim that its members operate from the hospital at all 15-month Gaza warsaying that no fighter had been there.

Former Israeli diplomat Alon Pinkas told Al Jazeera even though his country has provided evidence to support claims that Hamas has used medical facilities for military operations, it does not justify attacking hospitals.

“There is a discrepancy between the big headlines … and the failure to come up with the evidence to support this,” he said.

While the Israeli military said more than 250 Hamas fighters were detained at the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, Pinkas noted that even if this is true, “it still does not justify rendering the hospital inoperable “.

Transparent inquiry

The report called for credible and independent investigations into the attacks on health facilities, emphasizing the “limitations” of Israel’s justice system in dealing with the actions of its armed forces.

“It is essential that there are independent, thorough and transparent investigations into all these incidents, and full accountability for all violations of international humanitarian law and human rights that have occurred,” Turk said.

He also urged that “all medical workers 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 on Gaza has killed more than 45,500 people in the besieged territory, mostly civilians, according to the Ministry of Health.