The Israeli army besieged the Kamal Adwan Hospital, the last functional medical facility, in northern Gaza in the early hours of Friday, and ordered all staff and patients to evacuate.
Norway has condemned Israel’s attacks on the few remaining operational hospitals in northern Gaza as “completely unacceptable” and appealed for humanitarian organizations to be granted access to the territory.
“It is heartbreaking – and completely unacceptable – that the civilian population in Gaza, including children, is being deprived of life-saving treatment due to a shortage of hospitals, healthcare personnel and supplies,” Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said in a statement on Saturday.
In #Gaza, reports of continued Israeli attacks on hospitals are deeply disturbing. International humanitarian law must be respected at all times. Aid must be allowed to reach those in need, said Prime Minister @jonasgahrstore https://t.co/srfSBXLQlM
— SMK (@Statsmin_kontor) December 28, 2024
The Israeli army besieged the Kamal Adwan Hospital, the last functional medical facility, in northern Gaza in the early hours of Friday, and ordered all staff and patients to evacuate. The hospital’s director, Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, along with several medical personnel were detained by the occupation forces.
Surrounded by tanks and fired upon with quadcopter-mounted machine guns, a blaze swept through the hospital, destroying several parts of the building, including operating rooms and the laboratory.
Protection under IHL
“Hospitals and medical personnel enjoy special protection under international humanitarian law,” Store emphasized.
He said that on Christmas Eve, the United Nations (OCHA) reported that Israeli airstrikes had inflicted severe damage on Palestinian civilians “who have already suffered immensely from intense attacks over a long period.”
Israeli occupation forces have detained Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital, in northern Gaza along with dozens of staff members, Gaza’s Ministry of Health has confirmed.
This follows a raid by the Israeli army early on Friday, in which the hospital… pic.twitter.com/1X0Xs5Jvbq
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) December 28, 2024
“According to Palestinian health authorities, at least 50 people, including five healthcare workers, were killed in Israeli airstrikes near the Kamal Adwan hospital in North Gaza on December 26th,” the prime minister said.
The Kamal Adwan hospital, “which has been the only remaining major health facility in North Gaza, was forcibly evacuated yesterday following a military raid, according to the WHO,” he added.
Humanitarian Catastrophe
Highlighting the humanitarian situation in northern Gaza, Store said that in December alone, “Israeli authorities are reported to have rejected 48 out of 52 UN requests for humanitarian access to the besieged areas.”
He cited UNICEF as stating on December 26 that 11 children had lost their lives following Israeli attacks “in the past three days alone.”
A food crises monitoring organization withdrew a new report this week warning of imminent famine in northern Gaza after the United States government asked for its retraction, the Associated Press has reported, citing US officials.https://t.co/xfZZto0McN pic.twitter.com/VIWn1Il7cA
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) December 27, 2024
Over 90 percent of the population in Gaza is internally displaced, Storm stated, adding that “With winter setting in, together with the lack of food and shelter, living conditions are horrific, especially for children.”
Infants Frozen to Death
He also noted that according to Palestinian health authorities, “four infants have frozen to death in recent days.”
Store stressed that the UN and humanitarian organizations “must be allowed to continue their critical work,” adding that the “civilian population, the sick and the wounded must be given protection, food, and medical assistance.”
Another Palestinian toddler, one-month-old Jumaa, has died from extreme cold inside his family’s displacement tent in Gaza amid the ongoing Israeli genocide. pic.twitter.com/mCfV1LPe6e
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) December 29, 2024
“Furthermore, it is completely unacceptable that Israeli authorities continue to prevent humanitarian actors from accessing those in need,” he continued, pointing out that it was “imperative that humanitarian actors and their vital aid reach all parts of Gaza.”
“I wish to appeal once more to the Israeli government: Israel must comply with its international obligations and do everything within its power to end the suffering now,” urged the prime minister.
Store said a ceasefire, the release of all hostages and access to humanitarian aid “is more urgent than ever.”
Ongoing Genocide
The ongoing Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip, which began on October 7, 2023, has led to a humanitarian crisis of unprecedented scale. As the death toll among besieged and starved Palestinian civilians continues to rise daily, Israel is currently facing charges of genocide against Palestinians before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
A photo from inside Kamal Adwan hospital after being burnt down by the Israeli occupation forces. pic.twitter.com/GhsHmWZq83
— PALESTINE ONLINE 🇵🇸 (@OnlinePalEng) December 28, 2024
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, at least 45,484 Palestinians have been killed, and 108,090 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7, 2023. The toll is expected to rise further, with at least 11,000 people still unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes across Gaza.
The war, which Palestinians call “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood,” began after a military operation carried out by Hamas on Israeli territory. Israel reports that 1,200 of its soldiers and civilians were killed during the initial attack on October 7. However, Israeli media have raised concerns that a significant number of Israeli casualties were caused by ‘friendly fire’ during the assault.
Women and Children
Human rights organizations, both Palestinian and international, have reported that the overwhelming majority of the casualties in Gaza are women and children. The ongoing violence has also exacerbated an acute famine, with thousands of children among the dead, highlighting the severity of the humanitarian disaster.
The war has displaced nearly two million people from their homes across Gaza, with the majority of the displaced forced into the already overcrowded southern region of the Strip. The population in Gaza remains trapped in the ongoing conflict, with little access to basic necessities such as food, water, and medical care.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
