A UN report says Israel’s claims that Gaza hospitals are being used for military purposes by Palestinian armed groups are “false” amid ongoing Israeli attacks on health facilities protected by international law.
The report – released on Tuesday by the UN human rights office – said Israeli attacks targeting hospitals and their environs in the Gaza Strip have pushed the territory’s health care system “to the brink of total collapse with effect disastrous for Palestinians’ access to health and medical care. “.
The 23-page report covered the period from October 7, 2023 to June 30, 2024.
During this time there were at least 136 attacks on 27 hospitals and 12 other medical facilities, causing significant casualties among doctors, nurses, medics and other civilians, while causing significant damage, if not complete destruction, to civilian infrastructure.
‘A Death Trap’
The report emphasized that international humanitarian law explicitly protects medical personnel and hospitals as long as they are not involved in or used to commit acts harmful to the enemy outside of their humanitarian function.
“Insufficient information has so far been made publicly available to substantiate these claims, which have remained vague and broad, and in some cases appear to be contradicted by publicly available information,” the UN report said. .
Deliberate destruction of health care facilities “could constitute a form of collective punishment, which would also constitute a war crime,” he added.
“The only sanctuary where Palestinians should have felt safe has actually become a death trap,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk. “The protection of hospitals during war is paramount and must be respected by all parties at all times.”
Israel has in recent days escalated attacks on the besieged Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gaza, arresting its director.
The World Health Organization said Kamal Adwan Hospital’s 15 remaining critical patients, 50 caregivers and 20 health workers were transferred Friday to the nearby Indonesian Hospital, which it described as “devastated and dysfunctional.”
Hamas rejected Israel’s claim that its members operated from the hospital during the 15-month Gaza war, saying no fighters had been there.
Former Israeli diplomat Alon Pinkas told Al Jazeera that even if his country provided evidence to support claims that Hamas used medical facilities for military operations, it would not justify the attack on the hospitals.
“There is a discrepancy between the big headlines … and the failure to find evidence to support that,” he said.
While the Israeli military said more than 250 Hamas fighters were detained at Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, Pinkas noted that even if this is true, it still “doesn’t justify the hospital’s dysfunction.”
Transparent investigation
The report called for credible and independent investigations into the attacks on health facilities, highlighting the “limitations” of Israel’s justice system in dealing with the actions of its armed forces.
“It is essential that there be independent, thorough and transparent investigations into all these incidents and full accountability for all violations of international humanitarian law and human rights that have occurred,” Turk said.
He also demanded that “all medical workers arbitrarily detained should be released immediately”.
“It should also be a priority for Israel, as the occupying power, to ensure and facilitate access to proper health care for the Palestinian population,” Turk said.
Israel’s war in Gaza has killed more than 45,500 people in the besieged territory, mostly civilians, according to the Ministry of Health.
