The World Health Organization calls for an end to attacks on Gaza hospitals

The head of the World Health Organization called for an end to attacks on hospitals in Gaza.

“Hospitals in Gaza have once again become battlefields, and the health system is under severe threat.” Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

His warning came after the Israeli army raided and forcibly evacuated the last functioning hospital in besieged northern Gaza, Kamal Adwan, on Friday, and two hospitals in Gaza City were attacked on Sunday. The army said that two of the sites were used as Hamas command centers.

Dr. Tedros also joined human rights groups and relatives calling for the immediate release of Kamal Adwan’s manager, Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya, who was arrested by Israeli forces.

The Israeli army said on Saturday that the hospital where it worked was a Hamas “stronghold” and that forces killed about 20 “terrorists” and arrested 240 others during the raid. She added that Dr. Abu Safiya was among those arrested for questioning and that he was “suspected of being a Hamas terrorist activist.”

The army did not provide any evidence for these accusations, which Hamas denied and described as “lies.”

The US-based MedGlobal organization condemned the arrest of Dr. Abu Safiya, who was the organization’s chief physician in Gaza, describing it as “not only unjust” but also “a violation of international humanitarian law that supports the protection of medical personnel in conflict areas.”

Dr. Abu Safiya’s family expressed concern about his health, saying he was still recovering from serious injuries sustained in last month’s attack, and that he was likely suffering from the cold because he was forced to undress.

Hamas also rejected the Israeli allegations, describing them as “lies.”

Dr Tedros said Kamal Adwan was off duty after the strike and that critically ill patients had been transferred to the “out of work” Indonesian hospital, which he warned was badly damaged and did not have the capacity to provide care.

He added: “Amid the ongoing chaos in northern Gaza, the World Health Organization and its partners today delivered medical supplies, basic hygiene, food and water to the Indonesian hospital and transferred 10 patients in critical condition to Al-Shifa Hospital (in Gaza City).”

“Four patients were detained during the transfer. We urge Israel to ensure that their health care needs and rights are respected.”

The Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza said one of the detained patients was in critical condition, and that seven patients and ten medical staff remained in the Indonesian hospital.

Israeli forces launched a major ground offensive in the northern towns of Jabalia, Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun on October 6, saying they were preventing Hamas from regrouping there. The United Nations says the areas are under almost total siege and Israeli forces have largely blocked humanitarian aid for more than 11 weeks.

Dr. Tedros also said that Al-Ahli Hospital and Al-Wafa Rehabilitation Hospital in Gaza City “also faced attacks” and suffered damage.

On Sunday, seven people were killed and others seriously injured in an Israeli raid on the top floor of Al-Wafa Hospital, according to the Hamas-run Civil Defense Agency.

The Israeli army said that the raid targeted Hamas fighters who were using the building as a command and control center. She added that the building was not being used as a hospital at that time.

But one witness told the BBC that there were patients and medical staff inside the hospital.

A fourth-year medical student said that she was inside the hospital with her colleagues, preparing to take the exam, when it was bombed.

She added: “There was heavy smoke and we were on the verge of suffocation. The glass from the destroyed windows fell on us. We hid under the tables and then fled.”

“As we were going down the stairs, we saw patients in wheelchairs, and others being carried. Our professor had a head injury and was bleeding, while some other colleagues had minor injuries.”

The wounded were transferred to Al-Ahli Hospital, which was apparently subjected to Israeli bombing earlier on Sunday.

Video footage posted online showed damage to the top floor of one of the buildings at the site.

The Israeli army did not comment on these reports.

A displaced man who lives near Al-Ahli Hospital told BBC Arabic that he fears that the next hospital will be stormed by Israeli forces.

He added, “If they besiege us here, where will we go then? How long will this suffering continue? They have been displaced about six or seven times.” “They bombed all the houses, schools and hospitals. There is no longer a safe place for us to take shelter.”

Israel launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to the group’s unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which some 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

More than 45,540 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the Strip’s Ministry of Health.