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The head of the World Health Organization has called for an end to attacks on hospitals in Gaza.
“Gaza hospitals have once again become battlefields and the health system is seriously threatened,” Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
His warning came after the last functioning hospital in besieged northern Gaza, Kamal Adwan, was raided and forcibly evacuated by the Israeli army on Friday and two hospitals in Gaza City were attacked on Sunday. The military said two of the sites were being used as Hamas command centers.
Dr Tedros also joined human rights and family groups calling for the immediate release of Kamal Adwan director Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, who was detained by Israeli forces.
The Israeli military said on Saturday that its hospital was a Hamas “stronghold” and that troops had killed about 20 “terrorists” and detained another 240 during the attack. He added that Dr. Abu Safiya was among those questioned and was “suspected of being a Hamas terrorist agent.”
The military provided no evidence for the accusations, which Hamas dismissed as “lies.”
US-based MedGlobal condemned the detention of Dr. Abu Safiya, its top doctor in Gaza, as “not only unjust” but also “a violation of international humanitarian law, which upholds the protection of medical personnel in conflict zones.” “.
Dr. Abu Safiya’s family expressed concern about his health, saying he was still recovering from serious injuries sustained in an attack last month and was probably suffering from cold because he had been forced to remove his clothes.
Hamas also dismissed the Israeli accusations as “lies.”
Dr Tedros said Kamal Adwan was out of service after the raid and that his critically ill patients had been transferred to the “non-functioning” Indonesian hospital, which he warned was severely damaged and had no capacity to provide care.
“Amid the current chaos in northern Gaza, WHO and its partners today delivered basic medical and hygiene supplies, food and water to the Indonesian hospital and transferred 10 critical patients to al-Shifa hospital (in Gaza City). )”, said.
“Four patients were detained during transfer. We urge Israel to ensure that their healthcare needs and rights are respected.”
The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said one of the detained patients was in critical condition and that seven patients and 10 medical staff remained in the Indonesian hospital.
Israeli forces launched a major ground offensive in the northern towns of Jabalia, Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun on October 6, saying they were preventing Hamas from regrouping there. The UN says the areas are under near-total siege and that Israeli forces have largely denied humanitarian assistance for more than 11 weeks.
Dr. Tedros also said that al-Ahli Hospital and al-Wafa Rehabilitation Hospital in Gaza City “also faced attacks” and both were damaged.
On Sunday, seven people were killed and others seriously injured in an Israeli attack on the upper floor of Al Wafa hospital, according to the Hamas-run Civil Defense agency.
The Israeli military said the attack targeted Hamas fighters who were using the building as a command and control center. He added that the building was not serving as a hospital at the time.
But a witness told the BBC there were patients and medical staff inside the hospital.
A fourth-year medical student said she was inside the hospital with her colleagues, preparing to take an exam, when it was bombed.
“There was a lot of smoke and we almost suffocated. Glass from the destroyed windows fell on us. We took shelter under the tables and then fled,” he added.
“As we went down the stairs we saw patients in wheelchairs and others in arms. Our professor suffered a head injury and was bleeding; other colleagues suffered minor injuries.”
The injured were taken to Al Ahli hospital, which was apparently hit by Israeli shelling on Sunday.
Video footage posted online appeared to show damage to the top floor of a building at the scene.
The Israeli military has not commented on the reports.
A displaced man living near Al Ahli hospital told BBC Arabic that he feared he would be next to be attacked by Israeli forces.
“If we are besieged here, where can we go then? How long will this suffering last? We have been displaced about six or seven times,” he said. “They have bombed all the houses, schools and hospitals. We no longer have a safe place to take refuge.”
Israel launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to the group’s unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which some 1,200 people were killed and another 251 taken hostage.
Since then, more than 45,540 people have died in Gaza, according to the territory’s Health Ministry.
