WHO 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 are once again a battleground, and the health system is under serious threat.” Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

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

Dr. Tedros also joined human rights groups and relatives calling for the immediate release of Kamal Adwan director Dr. Hussam Abu Safia, who has been detained by Israeli forces.

The Israeli military said Saturday that its hospital was a Hamas “stronghold” and that troops had killed about 20 “terrorists” and detained 240 others during the raid. He added that Dr. Abu Safiya was among those taken in for questioning and that he was “suspected to be a terrorist agent of Hamas.”

The military has not provided evidence for the allegations, which Hamas has dismissed as “lies.”

The American company MedGlobal condemned the detention of Dr. Abu Safiya, who was its leading doctor in Gaza, as “not only unjust” but also as “a violation of international humanitarian law that supports the protection of medical personnel in conflict zones.”

Dr Abu Safia’s family have expressed concern for his health, saying he is still recovering from serious injuries sustained in an attack last month and that he is likely suffering from the cold because he was forced to strip.

Hamas also dismissed Israel’s accusations as “lies.”

Dr Tedros said Kamal Advan was out of work after the raid and that his critically ill patients had been transferred to a “dysfunctional” Indonesian hospital, which he warned was badly damaged and unable to provide care.

“Amid ongoing chaos in northern Gaza, WHO and partners today delivered basic medical and hygiene supplies, food and water to an Indonesian hospital and transferred 10 critical patients to Al-Shifa Hospital (in Gaza City),” he said.

“Four patients were detained during transportation. We call on Israel to ensure that their health needs and rights are respected.”

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said one of the detained patients was in critical condition and that seven patients and 10 medical staff remained in an Indonesian hospital.

Israeli forces launched a major ground offensive on the northern towns of Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun on October 6, saying it was preventing Hamas from regrouping there. The UN says the areas are under almost total siege and that Israeli forces have been denied 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 both suffered damage.

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

The Israeli military said the strike targeted Hamas militants who were using the building as a command center. It adds that the building was not used as a hospital at the time.

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

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

“There was a lot of smoke, we almost suffocated. Glass from broken windows fell on us. We hid under the tables and then ran away,” she added.

“When we went down the stairs, we saw patients in wheelchairs, others being carried. Our professor had a head injury, he was bleeding, some colleagues had minor injuries.”

The wounded were taken to Al-Ahly Hospital, which was apparently hit by Israeli shelling earlier on Sunday.

Videos posted online show damage to the top floor of one of the buildings at the site.

The Israeli military does not comment on these reports.

A displaced man who lives near Al-Ahly Hospital told BBC Arabic he feared it would be next to be attacked by Israeli forces.

“If they besiege us here, where can we go then? How long will this suffering continue? We have been displaced about six or seven times,” he said. “They bombed all the houses, schools and hospitals. There is no longer any safe place where we can hide.’

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

Since then, more than 45,540 people have died in Gaza, according to the territory’s health ministry.