The UN human rights body OHCHR estimates that between October 7, 2023 and June 30, 2024 alone, Israel carried out at least 136 attacks on hospitals in Gaza.
It also points out that a large number of patients and hundreds of doctors and hospital staff have been killed in the systematic attacks, while being highly skeptical of Israeli claims that the hospitals are used as bases for Hamas.
The UN agency points out that in all areas where Israel has conducted ground operations, hospitals have also been attacked, and it sees a clear pattern of Israeli military action.
“The IDF’s operations against hospitals generally started with (a) airstrikes or shelling on the hospitals and/or in the hospital’s vicinity, often resulting in serious damage to the hospital’s premises and equipment“.
This is then followed by a siege of the hospitals by ground troops, preventing Palestinians from accessing care and medical supplies, and then attacking the hospital buildings with heavy machinery, such as tanks and bulldozers.
Once this is done, the Israeli army usually detains doctors along with other hospital staff and patients – as well as the IDPs who have sought refuge inside the hospital premises. They are then forced to leave the hospital area, whether they are in urgent need of care or not.
Eventually, the IDF withdraws from the hospital area – but by then the buildings and equipment are usually destroyed or at least so damaged that the hospital is considered non-functional, and can no longer treat injured or sick Palestinians.
Dr. Mustafa Barghouti: The Israeli army invaded Kamal Edwan hospital in the North of Gaza burning it and arresting many of the patients and medical personnel after forcing them to be naked. pic.twitter.com/MlQXzRqN8S
— Mustafa Barghouti @Mustafa_Barghouti (@MustafaBarghou1) December 27, 2024
Mass graves and killed patients
Hospitals are being aerial bombed or shelled by tanks and soldiers, even though Israel knows that medical staff and patients are in the buildings. Doctors and patients are also dying not only during the bombings themselves but also later when they are in Israeli custody. The exact nature of the deaths is very difficult to ascertain and Israeli military claims can rarely be verified by independent investigators.
Although Israel claims that the attacks are carried out to neutralize Hamas militants, the UN agency points out that most of the victims are often women and children.
Several mass graves are also reported to have been found adjacent to hospitals attacked by Israeli forces – and many of the dead are believed to have been patients thrown into the graves along with catheters, syringes and other medical supplies. In other cases, there are reports of hospitals full of dead patients and of doctors killed after being ordered to evacuate the hospitals.
OHCHR cannot confirm all the information itself, but says the numerous testimonies and reports are “raising serious concerns that crimes under international law may have been committed“.
War crimes and crimes against humanity
In almost all cases, Israel has defended its hospital attacks by claiming that they were used as bases by armed Palestinian groups, but evidence is rarely presented and the claims are often very vague and imprecise.
“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”, it states.
When Israel bombed the first hospital in Gaza, the world wouldn’t believe it and Israel blamed a misfired rocket from Hamas…
Israel has now destroyed all 36 hospitals in Gaza including its largest medical facility the al-Shifa Hospital…
THIS IS A GENOCIDE… pic.twitter.com/v9pEv85jB8
— ADAM (@AdameMedia) November 12, 2024
The UN agency further stresses that deliberate attacks on the sick, wounded and other civilians who are not themselves engaged in hostilities are to be considered war crimes.
“Several of these acts, if committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian population may also amount to crimes against humanity”, it writes.
Need for independent investigations
The report concludes that Israel has destroyed the health system in Gaza and that the killing of patients, staff and other civilians in the attacks is a direct consequence of how Israel chooses to ignore international law and human rights.
As Israel itself is not interested in seriously investigating the abuses, OHCHR also calls for independent investigations to be carried out to collect and preserve evidence to later prosecute those responsible.
UN Human Rights Chief @volker_turk calls on the @UN Security Council & all those with influence to take action to safeguard hospitals and health services in Gaza, to protect civilians as a matter of absolute priority & to ensure accountability for all violations of international… pic.twitter.com/u3dDtn3lYh
— UN Human Rights (@UNHumanRights) January 3, 2025
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk says that hospitals in Gaza today have effectively become “death traps” and OHCHR stresses that Israel, as the occupying power, must prioritize ensuring access to adequate health care for the Palestinian population – as well as restoring the medical capacity lost over the past 14 months.
