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Home Local 28/December/2024 06:38 PM

WHO expresses dismay over Israeli raid into Gaza's Kamal Adwan hospital

WHO expresses dismay over Israeli raid into Gaza's Kamal Adwan hospital

GAZA, December 28, 2024 (WAFA) – The World Health Organization (WHO) Saturday expressed dismay over the Israeli raid into Gaza's last functioning hospital.

“WHO is appalled by yesterday’s raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital, which put the last major health facility in North Gaza out of service. The systematic dismantling of the health system and a siege for over 80 days on North Gaza puts the lives of the 75,000 Palestinians remaining in the area at risk,” the organization said in a press statement.

The Israeli occupation forces forcibly removed 350 people from the premises of the hospital, stripping patients, their companions, and staff of their clothing in freezing temperatures before transporting them to an undisclosed location. 

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 followed a raid by the Israeli army early on Friday, in which the hospital was surrounded by tanks and fired upon with quadcopter-mounted machine guns before being set on fire.

“Initial reports indicate that some areas of the hospital were burnt and severely damaged during the raid, including the laboratory, surgical unit, engineering and maintenance department, operations theatre, and the medical store. Earlier in the day, twelve patients and a female health staff were reportedly forced to evacuate to destroyed and non-functional Indonesian Hospital where it is not possible to provide any care, while the majority of the staff, stable patients and companions were moved to a nearby location,” WHO said.

It added that “some people were reportedly stripped and forced to walk toward southern Gaza. Over the last two months, the area around the hospital has remained highly volatile and attacks on the hospitals and on health workers have occurred almost daily. This week, bombardments in its vicinity reportedly killed 50 people, including five health workers from Kamal Adwan Hospital.”

“Kamal Adwan is now empty. Yesterday evening, the remaining 15 critical patients, 50 caregivers and 20 health workers were transferred to Indonesian Hospital, which lacks the necessary equipment and supplies to provide adequate care. The movement and treatment of these critical patients under such conditions pose grave risks to their survival,” it added.

The UN organization voiced its deep concern “for their wellbeing, as well as for the Kamal Adwan Hospital director who has been reportedly detained during the raid. WHO lost contact with him since the raid began.”

It pointed out that “an urgent WHO mission to Indonesian Hospital is being planned for tomorrow to safely move patients to southern Gaza for continued care.”

Recalling that “the raid on the Kamal Adwan hospital follows escalating restrictions on access and repeated attacks,” WHO elaborated: “Since early October 2024, WHO has verified at least 50 attacks on health on or near the hospital. Despite the increasingly dire needs for emergency and trauma services and supplies, only 10 out of 21 WHO missions to Kamal Adwan have been partially facilitated between early October and December. During these missions, 45,000 liters of fuel, medical supplies, blood, and food were delivered, and 114 patients along with 123 companions were transferred to Al-Shifa Hospital. But the deployment of international emergency medical teams has been repeatedly denied.”

 Pointing to the fact that the “efforts to sustain the hospitals’ operations have been undone,” WHO warned that “With Kamal Adwan and Indonesian hospitals entirely out of service, and Al-Awda Hospital barely able to function, and severely damaged due to recent airstrikes, the healthcare lifeline for those in North Gaza is reaching a breaking point.”

WHO called for “urgently ensuring that hospitals in North Gaza can be supported to become functional again.”

“Hospitals have once again become battlegrounds, reminiscent of the destruction of the health system in Gaza City earlier this year,” it stressed.

K.F.

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