Men mourn over the bodies of victims of a Israeli strike at Al-Ahli Arab hospital this week [Photo by OMAR AL-QATTAA/AFP via Getty Images]
A hospital in north Gaza came under Israeli fire overnight Thursday which injured six medical staff and damaged its electricity, water and oxygen supplies, in the latest attack on health care facilities in over 400 days of war.
Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia has been repeatedly targeted by Israeli forces who have been engaged in intensive battles in northern Gaza since early October which has killed dozens of civilians and destroyed homes, shops and civil infrastructure.
The Palestinian ministry of health said the hospital currently has 80 patients, including eight people in intensive care, and described the attack as a “repeated and ongoing criminal act”.
The ministry called on the international community to intervene and ensure health facilities and personnel are protected as dictated by international humanitarian law.
International NGO Médecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said on Friday that one of its teams was nearly hit by an Israeli drone strike on their way home from Nasser hospital in Khan Younis on 20 November despite sharing movement information with the Israeli authorities.
“Repeated security incidents in the humanitarian zone pose a real threat to the safety of our staff and patients and the continuity of our activities in Gaza. Humanitarian workers must be protected at all times,” Caroline Seguin, MSF coordinator in Gaza said.
The United Nation’s Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory Muhannad Hadi warned on Thursday that the “survival of two million people hangs in the balance” with living conditions in the war-torn Strip continuing to deteriorate despite pressure on Israeli authorities.
Hadi said that Israel’s ban on commercial imports entering Gaza for over six weeks is exacerbating supply issues.
“At the same time, a surge in armed looting targeting humanitarian convoys and truck drivers, fueled by the breakdown in public order and safety, has further crippled our ability to collect supplies from border areas and deliver critical aid.”
“Palestinian civilians are struggling to survive under unliveable conditions, amid relentless hostilities. Pushed to the brink, they lack access to essential support they desperately need to endure this unparalleled humanitarian catastrophe,” Hadi said in a statement.
Further strikes were reported across Gaza including in Bureij refugee camp and in Deir al-Balah, where two people were killed and other injured.
Local sources also reported that the Israeli army was burning buildings in Beit Lahia, in the latest report of such violence to be taking place in the north.
Israeli bombing was also reported in Khan Younis in southern Gaza where a strike hit a displacement camp in the al-Mawasi area and killed a woman and her child, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.
Eight people were killed in an Israeli air raid on the home of the Abu Assr family in Shujaiya neighbourhood in east Gaza City, according to the report.
The attacks come as Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant on Thursday were issued with arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
