Gaza hospitals ‘on the brink of total collapse’ in Israeli attack: UN | Israel-Palestine Conflicts News

A UN report says Israeli claims that Gaza hospitals are being used for war by Palestinian armed groups are “false” amid continued Israeli attacks on health facilities protected under international law.

The report – released on Tuesday by the UN human rights office – said that Israeli strikes against hospitals and surrounding areas in the Gaza Strip have forced the health care system in the area “to the brink of total collapse which has a negative impact on Palestinians’ access to health care and treatment.”.

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

During this period there have been at least 136 attacks on 27 hospitals and 12 other medical facilities, causing serious injuries among doctors, nurses, paramedics, and other civilians while causing significant damage, if not complete destruction, to human infrastructure.

‘death trap’

The report highlighted that international humanitarian law clearly protects medical and hospital workers as long as they are not involved in or used to commit acts that harm the enemy outside of their humanitarian work.

“Insufficient information has so far been publicly available to substantiate these allegations, which remain 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 “may amount to collective punishment, which may amount to a war crime”, it added.

“The one place where the 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 in times of war is very important and must be respected by all parties at all times.”

In recent days, Israel attacked the besieged Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gaza, detaining its director.

The World Health Organization said the 15 critical patients remaining at Kamal Adwan Hospital, 50 caregivers and 20 health workers were transferred on Friday to a nearby hospital in Indonesia, which it described as “destroyed and inoperable”.

Hamas has rejected Israel’s assertion that its members worked at the hospital during the 15-month war in Gaza, saying no combatants ever did.

Former Israeli diplomat Alon Pinkas told Al Jazeera that even if his country could provide evidence that Hamas used medical facilities for military operations, it would not justify attacking hospitals.

“There is a difference between big headlines … and the failure to come up with 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 that was true, “it does not justify the hospital not working”.

An open investigation

The report called for a credible, independent investigation into the attack on the health facility, stressing the “limitations” of Israel’s justice system in dealing with the actions of its soldiers.

“It is important that there is an independent, thorough and transparent investigation of all these incidents, and accountability for all violations of international humanitarian law and human rights that have occurred,” said Turk.

He also urged that “all medical workers unjustly arrested must be released immediately”.

“It must also be a priority for Israel, as the ruling power, to ensure and facilitate access to adequate health care for the Palestinian people,” Turk said.

Israel’s war in Gaza has killed more than 45,500 people in the besieged area, most of them civilians, according to the Ministry of Health.