Gaza's health care system on verge of collapse as Israel turns hospitals into "death trap"
Geneva, Switzerland - A UN report published Tuesday found that Israeli attacks on and near hospitals in Gaza had left health care in the Palestinian territory on the verge of collapse.
The report by the UN human rights office said such strikes raised grave concerns about Israel's compliance with international law.
"Israel's pattern of deadly attacks on and near hospitals in Gaza, and associated combat, pushed the healthcare system to the brink of total collapse, with catastrophic effect on Palestinians' access to health and medical care," the UN human rights office said in a statement.
Its 23-page report, entitled "Attacks on hospitals during the escalation of hostilities in Gaza," looked at the period from October 7, 2023 to June 30, 2024.
It said that during this time, there were at least 136 strikes on 27 hospitals and 12 other medical facilities, killing and injuring many doctors, nurses, medics, and other civilians and causing significant damage to, if not the complete destruction of, civilian infrastructure.
The report noted that medical personnel and hospitals are specifically protected under international humanitarian law, provided they do not commit, or are not used to commit, acts harmful to the enemy outside their humanitarian function.
It cast major doubts on Israel's repeated claims that Gaza hospitals were being improperly used for military purposes.
"Insufficient information has so far been made publicly available to substantiate these allegations, which have remained vague and broad, and in some cases appear contradicted by publicly available information," the report said.
Israel shredding humanitarian law with impunity
UN human rights chief Volker Turk said Gaza hospitals had become a "death trap."
"As if the relentless bombing and the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza were not enough, the one sanctuary where Palestinians should have felt safe in fact became a death trap," he said.
"The protection of hospitals during warfare is paramount and must be respected by all sides, at all times."
The report concluded with a call for credible investigations into the incidents detailed, and said they had to be independent given the "limitations" of Israel's justice system in respect of the conduct of its armed forces.
"It is essential that there be independent, thorough, and transparent investigations of all of these incidents, and full accountability for all violations of international humanitarian and human rights law which have taken place," said Turk.
"All medical workers arbitrarily detained must be immediately released," he added, a nod to the recent arrest of Dr. Hossam Abu Safiyeh, the director of Kamal Adwan hospital, northern Gaza's last functioning major health care facility.
Report after report from human rights organizations and legal experts has shown that US-backed Israel has been engaged in a genocidal assault on every facet of Palestinian life in Gaza over the past 15 months.
Cover photo: Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP