ISRAEL DEFENDING ITSELF

"The catastrophe in Gaza is nothing short of a complete breakdown of our common humanity,"

Gaza Ministry Says 50 Killed in a Day as Israel Bombs Flour Line, Hospital, and Refugee Camps


"We demand international protection for hospitals, patients, and medical staff," said the Gaza Ministry of Health.


Relatives mourn at al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital after Israel forces attacked the al-Maghazi refugee camp in Deir al-Balah, Gaza on December 9, 2024.
(Photo: Ashraf Amra/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Jessica Corbett
Dec 09, 2024
COMMON DREAMS


The death toll from Israel's 14-month assault on the Gaza Strip hit at least 44,758 on Monday, with 50 people killed in the past 24 hours alone, as Israeli forces bombed refugee camps, a flour distribution line, and a hospital, according to reporters and officials in the Palestinian enclave.

The Gaza Ministry of Health said a bombing at the Indonesian Hospital north of Gaza City wounded six patients—who are now among more than 106,000 Palestinians injured since Israel began its retaliation for last year's Hamas-led attack.

"We demand international protection for hospitals, patients, and medical staff," the ministry said in a statement reported by The Associated Press—which noted that Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed Sunday evening it was unaware of any attack on the hospital "in the last three to four hours."

A nurse shared footage from the hospital with Drop Site News, which circulated the material on social media:




According toAl Jazeera, "Overnight, an Israeli attack in the southern city of Rafah also killed 10 people while they had lined up to buy flour."

Israel, which faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice, has been accused of starving Gaza's 2.3 million residents by refusing to allow enough humanitarian aid into the besieged enclave.

Reporting from central Deir al-Balah, Al Jazeera's Hani Mahmoud said that at least three people were killed in a Monday morning attack on the Jabalia refugee camp in the north that Israeli bombing and the ongoing blockade have "turned into a graveyard."

The victims "were trying to leave their home in search of food in the vicinity of their neighborhood when they were targeted by a drone," the journalist said. "They were killed right away. Their bodies are still in the street and nobody has the ability to get to the bombed site and remove the bodies from the street."

The IDF announced that three soldiers were killed and 12 others were wounded Monday in fighting in Jabalia.

Mahmoud, the journalist, also said Monday that bodies were piling up outside al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital after an Israeli bombing at the Bureij refugee camp.

"The agony keeps on unfolding here at al-Aqsa Hospital, where survivors and relatives showed up early this morning to collect the bodies from the morgue of the hospital," he said. "At some point, the morgue of the hospital was packed with the bodies and there was not enough room for more bodies."



Citing the Palestinian news agency Wafa, Middle East Eyereported that "two children lost their lives, and others were injured on Monday, during Israeli shelling of al-Maghazi camp in the central Gaza Strip."

The updates followed a Hamas delegation led by Khalil al-Hayya leaving Cairo Sunday evening after meeting with Egypt's general intelligence chief, Maj. Gen. Hassan Rashad, to discuss a potential cease-fire in Gaza.

Israeli media reported Sunday that unnamed political sources claimed Hamas and Israel are close to reaching a "small" deal that would involve a two-month cease-fire; the release of prisoners who are elderly, women, wounded, and sick; and the IDF's withdrawal from parts of Gaza.

Neither Hamas nor mediators Egypt and Qatar have commented on the reporting—which came over a week into an Israeli cease-fire with the Lebanese group Hezbollah that Israel has repeatedly violated since it took effect late last month.

In neighboring Syria, the government of President Bashar al-Assad collapsed over the weekend as he fled and rebels took control of the capital. Israel seized more of the country's Golan Heights, which it has illegally occupied for decades, and the United States—which arms the IDF—launched airstrikes on over 75 Islamic State targets in Syria.



'A Critical Situation': Gaza Doctor Warns of Catastrophe as Israel Assails Hospital

"We have called on the world to protect both the healthcare system and its workers, yet we have not received any response from anyone globally," said the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital.


A victim of an Israeli attack receives treatment inside Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza on December 6, 2024.
(Photo: AFP via Getty Images)

Jake Johnson
Dec 08, 2024
COMMON DREAMS

The director of one of the few partially functioning hospitals in northern Gaza said Sunday that Israeli attacks have put the facility's remaining patients—including more than a dozen children—in grave danger and pleaded with the international community to intervene.

"Following the recent attack on Kamal Adwan Hospital, which involved over 100 shells and bombs indiscriminately targeting the facility, the damage has been severe," Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the hospital's director, said in a statement. "As of now, one of the hospital buildings remains without electricity, oxygen, or water. The shelling continues to occur randomly in the vicinity, preventing us from conducting repairs on the oxygen, electricity, and water networks."

Abu Safiya said the overwhelmed and under-resourced hospital is currently treating 112 wounded patients, including six people in intensive care and 14 children.

"This is a critical situation," he said Sunday morning. "The bombardment and gunfire have not ceased; planes are dropping bombs around the clock. We are uncertain of what lies ahead and what the army wants from the hospital."

"We have called on the world to protect both the healthcare system and its workers, yet we have not received any response from anyone globally," Abu Safiya added. "This represents a humanitarian catastrophe unfolding against the healthcare workers and patients. Unfortunately, there seems to be no effort to halt this relentless assault on Kamal Adwan Hospital and the broader health system."

The hospital director's statement came after Israeli attacks near the facility killed scores of people on Friday. Photos taken from the scene showed bodies on the ground amid building ruins.


(Photo: AFP via Getty Images)

A day earlier, an Israeli airstrike on the Kamal Adwan Hospital compound killed a 16-year-old boy in a wheelchair and wounded a dozen others, The Associated Press reported.

According toDrop Site, the boy "was struck as he entered the X-ray department."

Northern Gaza has been under intense Israeli assault for two months, and the humanitarian situation there and across the Palestinian enclave is worse than ever, according to U.N. agencies and aid organizations.

"The catastrophe in Gaza is nothing short of a complete breakdown of our common humanity," said U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres. "The nightmare must stop. We cannot continue to look away."

Abu Safiya said Sunday that his hospital is facing outages of electricity and water amid Israel's incessant attacks.

"We urgently appeal to the international community for assistance," he said. "The situation is extremely dangerous."