Israeli forces had besieged and shelled the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza for several days before raiding it last Tuesday.
The World Health Organisation has called for an immediate ceasefire as it condemned the destruction meted out by Israeli forces at the Kamal Adwan hospital in the northern Gaza Strip.
“The WHO is appalled by the effective destruction of the Kamal Adwan hospital… over the last several days, rendering it non-functional,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the WHO, in a post on X on Monday. Adding that it resulted in the death of at least eight patients, “including a 9-year-old child.”
Israeli forces had besieged and shelled the hospital for several days before raiding it last Tuesday.
“Of the deceased patients, several died due to lack of adequate health care,” the director-general said.
AL-JAZEERA: Israeli forces opened heavy fire on the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza during a press conference by the Ministry of Health.
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“Many health workers were reportedly detained, and WHO and partners are urgently seeking information on their status,” he said.
The WHO, he added, learned that many patients had to self-evacuate at great risk to their health and safety, with ambulances unable to reach the facility.
He said, “Gaza’s health system was already on its knees, and the loss of another even minimally functioning hospital is a severe blow.”
“Attacks on hospitals, health personnel, and patients must end. Ceasefire NOW,” he stressed.
He also said: “We are extremely concerned for the well-being of the internally displaced people who are reportedly sheltering in the hospital building.”
The human rights organization Euro-Med Monitor has urged to probe Israeli war crimes after reports of Palestinian civilians buried alive at the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza. https://t.co/Ww4lWA74K4 pic.twitter.com/ydcsIE1Zvk
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On Saturday, Palestinian journalist Imad Zaqout described the situation at the Kamal Adwan Hospital as ‘catastrophic’ and explained that at least 3,000 people had sought refuge there.
Doctors and other witnesses had reportedly said that Israeli forces bulldozed tents housing the displaced, and crushed them to death.
Al Jazeera journalist, Hani Mahmoud, had reported that the bulldozer had destroyed many of the hospital’s facilities.
“It crushed people and their tents in the courtyard and some 20 people were crushed and buried under the rubble,” Mahmoud reportedly said.
AL-JAZEERA CORRESPONDENT IMAD ZAQOUT: Israeli occupation forces buried dozens of patients and displaced people alive after running over their tents with bulldozers in the courtyard of the hospital located in the northern Gaza Strip. https://t.co/1rkTyXLRzJ
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) December 16, 2023
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, 12 babies were still held in incubators without medical attention.
Israeli forces have withdrawn from the hospital, and reportedly detained 90 people.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 18,800 Palestinians have been killed and more than 51,000 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7. Palestinian and international estimates say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
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