By HT News Desk
Dec 30, 2024
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, recently caught in an Israeli strike on Yemen's airport, called for Abu Safiya’s release and condemned attacks on Al-Ahli hospital.
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday urged an end to attacks on hospitals in Gaza. This call followed recent Israeli strikes on one hospital and a raid on another in the past few days, raising concerns over the safety of medical facilities in the region
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World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. (via REUTERS)
“Hospitals in Gaza have once again become battlegrounds and the health system is under severe threat,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a post on X.
“We repeat: stop attacks on hospitals. People in Gaza need access to health care. Humanitarians need access to provide health aid. Ceasefire!” he added.
The Israeli military said that Hamas militants were the intended targets of a strike on Gaza City's Al Wafa hospital on Sunday, which, according to Palestinian civil defense, resulted in seven deaths.
“Hospitals in Gaza have once again become battlegrounds and the health system is under severe threat,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a post on X.
“We repeat: stop attacks on hospitals. People in Gaza need access to health care. Humanitarians need access to provide health aid. Ceasefire!” he added.
The Israeli military said that Hamas militants were the intended targets of a strike on Gaza City's Al Wafa hospital on Sunday, which, according to Palestinian civil defense, resulted in seven deaths.
Israeli forces also detained over 240 Palestinians, including dozens of medical staff, from Kamal Adwan hospital on Friday, with among them being its director, Hussam Abu Safiya, as reported by health authorities in Gaza and Israel's military.
The Israeli military claimed that the hospital was being used by Hamas as a command center for military operations, and the detainees were suspected militants. It also stated that Abu Safiya was taken for questioning due to suspicions of him being a Hamas operative.
Tedros, who was recently caught in an Israeli strike on Yemen's main airport said that it could have cost him his life, called for the immediate release of Abu Safiya and highlighted attacks on Al-Ahli hospital.
He also reported that the WHO and its partners had delivered essential medical supplies, food, and water to Gaza's Indonesian hospital and transferred 10 critically ill patients to Al Shifa hospital, though four patients were detained during the transfer.
“We urge Israel to ensure their health care needs and rights are upheld,” Tedros said.
According to Gaza's health ministry, at least 45,514 Palestinians have been killed and 108,189 wounded in Israel's military offensive in Gaza since the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023.
With Reuters inputs
International human rights group condemns Israel’s burning of Kamal Adwan Hospital
Action is catastrophic blow to region’s health care system, says ICHR
Merve Berker |30.12.2024 - TRT/AA
ANKARA
The Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR) strongly condemned Israel on Sunday for burning Kamal Adwan Hospital, rendering it inoperative and further crippling the health care system in northern Gaza.
The assault, marked by forced evacuations, arrests of medical staff and the destruction of critical facilities, has left the region without functioning hospitals.
Israeli forces besieged Kamal Adwan Hospital on Dec. 27, forcing patients and medical teams to evacuate under artillery fire, according to ICHR documentation.
Critically ill patients were sent to the Indonesian Hospital, which was already out of service, while others were interrogated and searched after being forced to walk to the Al-Fakhoura area, the statement said.
Following the evacuation, the hospital was set ablaze, destroying its equipment and facilities, it added.
The ICHR quoted the World Health Organization (WHO) as saying that the Israeli military’s actions amounted to "a systematic dismantling of Gaza's health care system, effectively sentencing tens of thousands of Palestinians reliant on it to death.”
Other hospitals in northern Gaza, including Beit Hanoun Governmental Hospital, are also out of service, leaving Al-Awda Hospital barely operational under constant bombardment.
The human rights group also denounced these actions as violations of international law, saying they constitute war crimes under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and the Geneva Conventions.
The commission emphasized the long-term repercussions of these attacks, undermining the right to health for Gaza’s population.
The ICHR further called for urgent international action, including the prosecution of Israeli leaders, an immediate UN Security Council resolution to protect Gaza’s health care system, and an independent investigation by the International Criminal Court.
It also urged the international community to press for the release of detained health care workers and the provision of medical supplies to sustain the remaining infrastructure.
The attack on Kamal Adwan Hospital is a "heinous violation of human rights," it said, adding that such actions contribute to "an ongoing crime of genocide against the civilian population of Gaza."
On Friday, Israeli forces raided Kamal Adwan Hospital, located in the northern town of Beit Lahia, burning large sections of the medical facility and forcing patients and displaced civilians to flee.
Israel has killed more than 45,500 people in Gaza since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023 and reduced the enclave to rubble.
In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
Action is catastrophic blow to region’s health care system, says ICHR
Merve Berker |30.12.2024 - TRT/AA
ANKARA
The Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR) strongly condemned Israel on Sunday for burning Kamal Adwan Hospital, rendering it inoperative and further crippling the health care system in northern Gaza.
The assault, marked by forced evacuations, arrests of medical staff and the destruction of critical facilities, has left the region without functioning hospitals.
Israeli forces besieged Kamal Adwan Hospital on Dec. 27, forcing patients and medical teams to evacuate under artillery fire, according to ICHR documentation.
Critically ill patients were sent to the Indonesian Hospital, which was already out of service, while others were interrogated and searched after being forced to walk to the Al-Fakhoura area, the statement said.
Following the evacuation, the hospital was set ablaze, destroying its equipment and facilities, it added.
The ICHR quoted the World Health Organization (WHO) as saying that the Israeli military’s actions amounted to "a systematic dismantling of Gaza's health care system, effectively sentencing tens of thousands of Palestinians reliant on it to death.”
Other hospitals in northern Gaza, including Beit Hanoun Governmental Hospital, are also out of service, leaving Al-Awda Hospital barely operational under constant bombardment.
The human rights group also denounced these actions as violations of international law, saying they constitute war crimes under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and the Geneva Conventions.
The commission emphasized the long-term repercussions of these attacks, undermining the right to health for Gaza’s population.
The ICHR further called for urgent international action, including the prosecution of Israeli leaders, an immediate UN Security Council resolution to protect Gaza’s health care system, and an independent investigation by the International Criminal Court.
It also urged the international community to press for the release of detained health care workers and the provision of medical supplies to sustain the remaining infrastructure.
The attack on Kamal Adwan Hospital is a "heinous violation of human rights," it said, adding that such actions contribute to "an ongoing crime of genocide against the civilian population of Gaza."
On Friday, Israeli forces raided Kamal Adwan Hospital, located in the northern town of Beit Lahia, burning large sections of the medical facility and forcing patients and displaced civilians to flee.
Israel has killed more than 45,500 people in Gaza since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023 and reduced the enclave to rubble.
In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
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