Gaza hospitals are on the “brink of total collapse” as a result of Israeli attacks: United Nations | News of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

A UN report said Israel’s claims that Gaza’s hospitals are being used for military purposes by Palestinian armed groups are “ambiguous”. Continued Israeli attacks On health facilities protected under international law.

The report – issued by the United Nations Human Rights Office on Tuesday – said that the Israeli strikes that targeted hospitals and surrounding areas in the Gaza Strip pushed the sector’s health care system “to the brink of complete collapse, with a catastrophic impact on Palestinians’ access to health and medical care.” “.

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

During this period, there were at least 136 attacks on 27 hospitals and 12 other medical facilities, resulting in significant casualties among doctors, nurses, paramedics and other civilians, while causing significant damage, if not complete destruction, to civilian infrastructure.

“Death trap”

The report stressed that international humanitarian law explicitly protects medical and hospital workers as long as they do not engage in or are not used to commit acts harmful to the enemy outside the scope of their humanitarian function.

The UN report said: “Insufficient information has yet been made available to substantiate these allegations, which remain vague and broad, and in some cases appear to be contradictory to publicly available information.”

She added that the deliberate destruction of healthcare facilities “may amount to a form of collective punishment, which may also constitute a war crime.”

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said: “The only haven where Palestinians should have felt safe has in fact become a death trap.” “Protecting hospitals during war is crucial and must be respected by all parties at all times.”

In recent days, Israel has escalated its attacks on the besieged Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip. Its director was arrested.

The World Health Organization said Kamal Adwan HospitalOn Friday, 15 critically ill patients, 50 caregivers and 20 health workers were transferred to the nearby Indonesian hospital, which he described as “destroyed and inoperable.”

Hamas rejected Israel’s assertion that its members performed surgeries from the hospital throughout the Strip The Gaza war has been going on for 15 monthsSaying that there were no fighters.

Former Israeli diplomat Alon Pinkas told Al Jazeera that even if his country provided evidence supporting allegations that Hamas used medical facilities in military operations, that would not justify attacking hospitals.

He said: “There is a contradiction between the big headlines… and the failure to find evidence to support this.”

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

Transparent investigation

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

“It is necessary to conduct independent, comprehensive and transparent investigations into all these incidents, and to hold full accountability for all violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law that occurred,” Türk said.

He also urged the “immediate release of all arbitrarily detained medical personnel.”

“It must be a priority for Israel, as the occupying power, to ensure and facilitate the Palestinian population’s access to adequate health care,” Turk said.

The Israeli war on Gaza led to deaths More than 45,500 people In the besieged area, most of them are civilians, according to the Ministry of Health.