UN denounces Israeli military operations targeting Gaza hospitals

“We’ve been very clear in the fact that we condemn any action that targets civilians and civilian infrastructure, and hospitals. We’ve called repeatedly for them to be respected as this is a safe space area where people go to seek medical assistance,” Florencia Soto Nino, the UN chief’s associate spokesperson, told reporters during a news conference.

Asked about Israel detaining of the director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya in Gaza, Nino said: “Anyone that is innocent civilian who is trying to help others should not be detained.”

“I think we have been talking about this for a long time there is no safe space in Gaza,” she continued, adding that the UN is ready to work with anyone who would support its work to ensure safety of civilians including the director.

Citing UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Nino stated that “10 patients were evacuated from the (Kamal Adwan) hospital, four of whom were arrested by Israeli forces at the checkpoint leaving the area.”

“Seven patients, along with 15 caregivers and health workers, remain at the facility, which is severely damaged and has no ability now to provide medical care. The team reported also that the hospital has no water, electricity or sanitation.”

Stressing that Israel’s restrictions on aid continues, she stated that such impediments “continue to paralyze the humanitarian operation at times when families urgently need food, shelter, clothing, especially as the winter is hitting them hard.”

“OCHA has warned that the very means of people’s survival are being dismantled. This includes an onslaught on healthcare, emergency services and humanitarian access, alongside relentless attacks that kill and maim civilians by the hour,” she added.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has also warned that Gaza’s health sector is under increasing threat amid ongoing Israeli attacks and raids on hospitals.

Ghebreyesus described hospitals in the enclave as “battlegrounds” in a post on X.

The hospital was stormed by Israeli troops on Friday, following nearly three months of a suffocating blockade and constant air strikes on its departments and the area surrounding them.

All remaining medical staff, patients, and their relatives were taken out of the hospital at gunpoint, forced to strip down to their underwear and transferred to an unknown location.

The Palestinian health ministry announced dozens of doctors were taken to detention centres for interrogation, including the director of the hospital.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has revealed that at least 136 Israeli air strikes targeted 27 hospitals and 12 other medical facilities in Gaza, sparking fears of grave violations of international law.

The UN stated that this relentless assault on healthcare infrastructure appears to follow a disturbing pattern, raising alarm over potential war crimes.

“Intentionally directing attacks against hospitals and civilians is a war crime,” the organisation warned.

Israel has killed more than 45,500 people in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023 and reduced the enclave to rubble.

In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.