Kamal Adwan under Siege – Two Children Die, Scores Abducted, including Hospital Director

October 26, 2024 News
The last photo of the Director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital, Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya , before he was abducted by Israeli occupation forces during their siege and bombardment of the hospital. (Photo: via social media)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

A photo has been shared on social media which is reported to be the last taken of Dr Abu Safiya and what appears to be two other health workers, before being abducted by Israeli forces.

Gaza’s Health Ministry has called for urgent intervention at the Kamal Adwan Hospital in north Gaza where 600 Palestinians, including medical staff, are trapped inside and two children have died after the generators were shut down as Israeli forces continued to raid the facility.

“Two children have been martyred in the intensive care unit following the shutdown of the hospital generators and the targeting of the oxygen station,” the Health Ministry said in a statement on Friday night.

There are 195 patients, with 70 medical staff, as well as displaced families inside the hospital, according to the ministry. At the same time, the World Health Organization said four people have been injured, including three health workers, by Israeli forces.

Israeli forces “are searching the hospital and firing within various departments, increasing fear and distress,” the ministry said.

Last Picture of Dr Abu Safiya

At the same time, 44 health workers have been detained, the WHO said. Among them is the hospital’s director, Dr Hussam Abu Safiya.

A photo has been shared on social media which is reported to be the last taken of Dr Abu Safiya and what appears to be a female doctor and another health worker, before being abducted by Israeli forces. The journalist, Abed Al-Zuwaidi and his father are also reported to be among those detained. Scores of male detainees were forced to strip to their underwear, the ministry earlier said.

The Health Ministry said three ambulances and one transport vehicle had been destroyed by Israeli forces, hampering relief and transport operations. The solar-powered electricity system has also been destroyed, exacerbating the crisis.

“These conditions urgently require humanitarian organizations to intervene to ensure everyone’s safety and provide essential needs,” the Ministry said.

Contact Lost

The WHO chief, Tedros Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said on X that the organization managed to get in touch with hospital staff on Friday night after losing all contact earlier.

He said the “siege and attacks on health workers occurred just hours after the WHO-led mission which delivered essential supplies to keep the facility operational and took critical patients to Al-Shifa Hospital.”

Calling for a ceasefire, he demanded that hospitals, health workers and patients “be protected.”

No Access to Water, Food

The raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital comes as Israeli forces continue to besiege northern Gaza for almost three weeks with access to food, water and medicines completely cut off.

Residential buildings and shelters have been bombed and hundreds of families forced out of their homes by Israeli forces and ordered to leave the north for areas elsewhere in Gaza, already destroyed in the year-long military assault on the enclave.

Close to 43,000 Killed

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.

Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 42,847 Palestinians have been killed, and 100,544 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7, 2023.

Israeli War Disrespects International Law – UN Slams Siege of Northern Gaza

Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.

Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.

Ongoing Genocide

Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.

(The Palestine Chronicle)

    Learn More     Watch Video
(The Palestine Chronicle is a registered 501(c)3 organization, thus, all donations are tax deductible.)
Our Vision For Liberation: Engaged Palestinian Leaders & Intellectuals Speak Out

Related Articles

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*