“The situation in the hospital is getting worse, and it will turn into a graveyard for everyone inside the hospital.”
The catastrophic situation at the Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gaza has intensified with Israeli military snipers targeting the intensive care unit, the hospital’s director has said.
“The intensive care unit was targeted for the first time by snipers, and all the hospital windows were hit,” said Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya on Monday, adding that this suggests that the snipers were positioned in high places.
Director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, Dr. Hussam Abu Saffiya, calls on the International Community and the WHO to intervene and protect the hospital after Israeli snipers targeted the ICU staff and electricity went down due to an Israeli attack on the power generators. pic.twitter.com/syzZ8L8vTo
— PALESTINE ONLINE 🇵🇸 (@OnlinePalEng) December 17, 2024
“Anyone moving around the hospital wards was at risk of being hit, creating a very dangerous situation for patients and staff,” said the doctor, with medical care being provided to some of the injured in the corridors.
Quadcopter Drones
“This development is very serious and something new for us,” he said, adding that quadcopters were also targeting “anyone who moves in the courtyard of the hospital.”
Israeli occupation forces have once again opened fire at the intensive care unit of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, causing significant damage to the facility. pic.twitter.com/KtKsenFYfy
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) December 17, 2024
As shelling of the hospital continued, Dr. Abu Safiya said, it was “clear that the focus is on the hospital—its building, its surroundings, and anyone moving inside it.”
Since Sunday, “we have received about 29 injuries, and five martyrs,” said the doctor.
Electricity, Water Affected
The hospital requires urgent maintenance, he stressed, such as the repairing of generators, electricity, water, and oxygen supplies adding that “unfortunately, we cannot go out to repair the damage” due to the attacks.
Staff and patients are enduring “difficult hours without electricity, oxygen or water,” Dr Abu Safiya noted.
Israeli strikes once again target Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital, cutting power to the facility, where dozens of Palestinians are stuck, including those in intensive care pic.twitter.com/3z6ewvCDiK
— TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) December 17, 2024
“The situation in the hospital is getting worse, and it will turn into a graveyard for everyone inside the hospital,” he warned.
The doctor reiterated his appeal for “international protection,” calling on the World Health Organization (WHO) and the world community to “intervene urgently”.
‘Appalling Conditions’ – WHO
The WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the “conditions in the hospital are simply appalling,” and urged for the protection of health care “and for all this hell to stop!”
He said, “Recent attacks have further damaged the oxygen supply, generators, and broken windows and doors of the patients’ rooms.”
.@WHO and partners reached Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern #Gaza two days ago, amid hostilities and explosions in the vicinity of the hospital during the mission. The team delivered 5000 liters of fuel, food and medicines, and transferred 3 patients and 6 companions to Al-Shifa… pic.twitter.com/N7V0O824Sq
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) December 16, 2024
In the last week, the WHO chief added, four WHO missions to the hospital “have been arbitrarily denied, including the re-deployment of the international emergency medical team, which had self-evacuated from the hospital on 6 December due to hostilities.”
“This has left the hospital without specialized personnel for surgical and maternal care,” he stressed.
Two days ago, the WHO and its partners reached the hospital and managed to deliver fuel, food and medicines, as well as “transferred 3 patients and 6 companions to Al-Shifa Hospital. “
Medics ‘Routinely’ Targeted
According to the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, Israeli is “routinely” targeting medical teams in the north of Gaza “to destroy the health system and impose intolerable living conditions on civilians while denying them access to life-saving care.”
“Israel has attacked Kamal Adwan Hospital, located in the Beit Lahia project, more than 20 times in the past 10 days, injuring several patients, medical personnel, and their companions,” the Geneva-based rights group said in a report.
🧵Israel systematically and consistently targets the few remaining medical teams in northern #Gaza, exacerbating the difficulty of providing healthcare services to tens of thousands of besieged residents for over 70 days. Meanwhile, the Israeli army has been preventing civil… pic.twitter.com/aYpjcUEFVq
— Euro-Med Monitor (@EuroMedHR) December 14, 2024
The few medical teams that have remained in northern Gaza are being targeted by the Israeli occupation army “in a methodical, obvious, and recurring pattern,” the report noted.
“This makes it extremely difficult to provide medical care to the 10s of thousands of residents who have been under siege for 69 days, and continues to prevent ambulance and civil defence crews from working for 51 days now,” it added.
‘Systematic Policy of Killing’
In addition to the cycle of killing that has affected tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians in northern Gaza, Euro-Med Monitor’s review of the Israeli military’s targeting records and victim lists “reveals a systematic, widespread policy of killing and assassinating Palestinian elites and those with competencies in various sectors.”
Targeting Lifesavers – Israeli Drone Kills Gaza’s Sole Orthopedic Doctor
The number of Palestinian medical personnel who have been killed since October 7, 2023, is 1,057, and more than 135 scientists and academics have also been killed, the report stated.
The list includes journalists, 193 of whom have been killed in the same period, as well as experts in computer engineering, programming, and information technology, “plus other influential people in these crucial spheres of society.”
Euro-Med Monitor called on the UN and all nations to “carry out their international legal duties to prevent the continuation of Israel’s crime of genocide” in Gaza as well as impose a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel and “defend medical personnel and health facilities in the enclave from any further targeting.”
(The Palestine Chronicle)
