The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor expressed its "shock and dismay" at the Israeli army's carrying out physical liquidation operations against wounded Palestinians, during the forced evacuation of the Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City and using its administration as human shields.

The Observatory stated that it received testimonies about the Israeli army’s use of members of the Shifa Complex administration as human shields, to conduct an extensive combing and search operation in the complex’s hospital facilities before carrying out horrific mass field killing operations.

According to the testimonies, the Israeli army requested Dr. Marwan Abu Saada, director of the Surgical Hospital in the Shifa Complex, to negotiate with it, on behalf of the complex’s administration, to arrange mechanisms for evacuating the wounded and sick from hospitals and facilities in the complex.

But what happened was that the occupation army used Doctor Abu Saada as a human shield in order to open all the doors of the hospital departments in the complex for more than five continuous hours, searching for signs of a military presence in the complex.

According to the Observatory, when the Israeli occupation failed to find any evidence it sought of a military presence in the compound, “the soldiers went crazy and deliberately carried out physical liquidation operations on a number of the wounded by direct shooting at them and killing them in cold blood.”

The Euro-Mediterranean Monitor reiterated its strong condemnation of the blatant violations that have been and continue to be committed against hospitals that enjoy special protection, under international humanitarian law, including Article 19 of the Geneva Conventions, which stipulates that “medical service units may not be attacked under any circumstances, but must be respected.” and protected at all times by the parties to the conflict.”

The Observatory also recalled Article 56 of the Geneva Conventions, which stipulates that “the occupying state must, to the maximum extent permitted by the means at its disposal, guarantee and maintain, in cooperation with national and local authorities, medical institutions and services, hospitals, public health, and health care in the occupied territories.”

The Euro-Mediterranean Observatory called for an urgent opening of an independent international investigation into the Israeli occupation army turning hospitals into firing zones and conducting field executions, which may amount to war crimes, and the need to hold the perpetrators and those who issued the order accountable.