The World Health Organization representative in the occupied Palestinian territories, Rick Peeperkorn, stated that the organization did not receive any prior warning about the Israeli attack on Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip early Thursday morning, which led to the martyrdom of more than 30 people.

"The hospital is currently operating at a minimum," Peeperkorn said in a video conference from Geneva, putting patients' lives at risk.

The Israeli army withdrew from Kamal Adwan Hospital after a raid that lasted several hours, including the arrest of medical staff and patients and forcing those who were in the hospital to leave.

The areas surrounding the hospital witnessed a bloody night, as Israeli warplanes launched intensive raids targeting inhabited homes, resulting in a large number of casualties. These attacks increased the pressure on the hospital, which received many martyrs and wounded in a short time, which exacerbated the challenges of providing health care under the current circumstances.

For his part, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, Hussam Abu Safia, announced - at dawn on Friday - that the hospital had been subjected to "several Israeli raids since the morning" which resulted in "a large number of martyrs and wounded."

Abu Safiya added that these attacks resulted in the killing of 4 medical staff, which further complicated the medical situation in the hospital, which suffers from a severe shortage of resources as a result of the stifling Israeli siege.

Abu Safiya added that the hospital is now facing major challenges, as "there are no surgeons left" in the hospital, which makes it more difficult to provide healthcare to the wounded. It is noteworthy that the hospital has been subjected to successive raids on the northern and western sides, accompanied by heavy fire.

Targeting medical institutions

Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal confirmed that "the Israeli occupation army stormed Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip and is emptying it of patients and their companions, and is taking a number of Palestinians to an unknown location after arresting them, with tanks and armored vehicles present inside and around the hospital."

Since the beginning of the fierce Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, hospitals have witnessed repeated targeting operations, which has harmed their ability to provide the necessary health care to the population.

In turn, the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor announced that Israel is seeking to destroy the last collapsed hospital in northern Gaza, as part of implementing the crime of forced displacement of the Palestinian population.

The statement said that the direct and repeated military targeting, in addition to imposing a stifling siege on the area, aims to weaken the last necessities of life, including hospitals, which are the lifeline of hope for the besieged population.

The Observatory noted that the occupation forces continued their attacks on the Beit Lahia area in northern Gaza early this morning, targeting homes and streets, before besieging Kamal Adwan Hospital. This hospital - along with two others - is still partially operating despite the ongoing destruction and the dangers facing medical staff.

Hamas's position

The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) called on the World Health Organization to send an international committee to investigate the repeated targeting and shelling of Kamal Adwan Hospital and all health facilities in the Gaza Strip, considering these crimes to be a flagrant violation of international laws.

The movement stressed that these actions confirm the statements of the former Israeli Minister of Defense, Moshe Ya'alon, who admitted that "Israel is carrying out ethnic cleansing in the northern Gaza Strip."

Hamas also called on the international community, the United Nations and its institutions to take urgent measures to stop the brutal crimes against the Palestinians and hold the perpetrators of these crimes accountable, stressing the need to activate laws and decisions that would protect defenceless civilians and provide the necessary support to the health sector in Gaza.

This escalation by the Israeli occupation adds more pressure on the sector, which is suffering from a stifling humanitarian crisis, and increases the suffering of the population in light of the shortage of basic and medical resources.