Al-Awda Hospital

Last updated
Al-Awda Hospital
Al-Awda Hospital
Geography
Location Jabalia refugee camp, Gaza Strip, Gaza Governorate, Palestinian territories
Coordinates 31°31′47.47″N34°28′47.2″E / 31.5298528°N 34.479778°E / 31.5298528; 34.479778
Organisation
Care system Emergency room, maternity ward
Type Treatment
History
Opened1997
Closed2024 (part of Israel-Hamas War) [1]

Al-Awda Hospital is a hospital in the Gaza Strip, Palestine. The hospital provides basic medical care, with an emergency room and obstetric services for women in the northern Gaza Strip.

Contents

The hospital has the largest delivery room in the district and is the only one that provides fluoroscopy services. It runs training programs for nursing students in cooperation with universities in the Gaza Strip.

In October 2024, during the Israel-Hamas War, Israeli warplanes bombed the hospital at least three times; Israeli tanks also besieged the facility twice, once in December 2023 and again in October 2024, with the latter siege trapping 163 people in the hospital and drawing ire from Relief International and the World Health Organization. [2] [3]

Israel has killed Doctors Without Borders staff at the facility. [4]

Gaza War (2008–2009)

In 2009 an ambulance operating out of Al-Awda hospital in the northern city of Beit Lahiya was shelled, seriously injuring 4 medical staff. [5]

Israel-Hamas War (2023–present)

The World Health Organization (WHO) strongly condemned Israel's repeated orders to evacuate al-Awda Hospital in northern Gaza, calling it a death sentence for the sick and wounded. [6] On 10 November, an Israeli strike was reported near Al-Awda Hospital, resulting in damage to an ambulance. [7] On 21 November, Doctors Without Borders stated two of its doctors had been killed by a strike on the hospital. [8] On 1 December, Doctors Without Borders stated the hospital had been damaged in a bombing. [9]

2023 siege

On 13 December, Jacobin reported that 240 people were trapped at al-Awda, surrounded by Israeli snipers, without clean water and surviving on one meal per day of bread or rice. [10] A staffer at the hospital reported Israeli snipers had shot at a one pregnant civilian at the hospital. [11] A hospital monitoring manager stated a nurse had been killed by an Israeli sniper on the hospital's fourth floor through the window. [12] On 14 December, the Gaza Health Ministry stated their fear that after the Israeli raid of Kamal Adwan Hospital was complete, al-Awda would be their next target. [13]

Renzo Fricke, an official at Doctors Without Borders, stated, "Reports coming out of Al-Awda hospital are harrowing and we are gravely worried for safety of patients and staff inside". [14] On 17 December, the hospital director stated they were running low on water, food, oxygen, and medications. [15] On December 19, reports emerged that Israeli forces have converted the hospital into their own 'military barracks'. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, 240 Palestinians, including staff and patients, are being held inside. [16]

Doctors Without Borders reported Israeli troops seized Al Awda, with troops stripping, bounding, and interrogating all men and boys over the age of sixteen. [17] Soldiers continued holding the hospital [18] and in its premises they arrested Adnan al-Bursh, head of orthopaedics at al-Shifa Hospital, later died in Israeli prison. [19]

May 2024 attack

In May 2024, the World Health Organization issued an alert for the hospital, with chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, stating, "Medical staff inside the hospital reported an attack on 20 May, with snipers aiming at the building and an artillery rocket hitting the fifth floor". [20] According to an Al-Awda doctor, medical staff were forced to leave the hospital the following day. [21] Doctors Without Borders stated that after a four day siege, the hospital was "being forced to close". [22] When Israeli forces stormed the hospital on 23 May, Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated, "WHO urgently calls for the protection of patients, companions and health workers inside the hospital and safe passage for their evacuation". [23]

Related Research Articles

Medical neutrality refers to a principle of noninterference with medical services in times of armed conflict and civil unrest: physicians must be allowed to care for the sick and wounded, and soldiers must receive care regardless of their political affiliations; all parties must refrain from attacking and misusing medical facilities, transport, and personnel. Concepts comprising the principles of medical neutrality derive from international human rights law, medical ethics and humanitarian law. Medical neutrality may be thought of as a kind of social contract that obligates societies to protect medical personnel in both times of war and peace, and obligates medical personnel to treat all individuals regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or political affiliation. Violations of medical neutrality constitute crimes outlined in the Geneva Conventions.

During the Israel–Hamas war, the Kamal Adwan Hospital, a hospital in Beit Lahia, Gaza Strip, Palestine, has been besieged multiple times by the Israel Defense Forces. Hamas has been accused by Israel of using hospitals as shields and bases to conduct attacks against Israel.

The Nasser Hospital was one of the largest hospitals in the Gaza Strip, Palestine.

The following is a list of events during the Israeli–Palestinian conflict in 2023, including the 2023 events of the Israel–Hamas war.

Events in the year 2023 in Palestine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gaza Strip evacuations</span> State-ordered displacement

During the Israel–Hamas war, the Israeli military ordered mass evacuations in Gaza, resulting in one of the largest displacements of Palestinians since 1948. On 13 October 2023, just one week after Hamas' attack on Israel, Israel instructed 1.1 million Gazans north of the Wadi Gaza, including those in Gaza City, to evacuate within 24 hours. This evacuation triggered a humanitarian crisis, with Palestinians calling it the "second Nakba," in reference to the mass displacement of 1948.

On 3 November 2023, amid the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip and siege of Gaza City, an Israeli airstrike hit an ambulance convoy departing from al-Shifa Hospital carrying critically injured patients. The strike killed 15 people and wounded at least 60. The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), which was part of the convoy, said that all 15 people killed were civilians. The airstrike also caused damage to the hospital itself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gaza humanitarian crisis (2023–present)</span>

The Gaza Strip is experiencing a humanitarian crisis as a result of the Israel–Hamas war. The crisis includes both an impending famine and a healthcare collapse. At the start of the war, Israel tightened its blockade on the Gaza Strip, which has resulted in significant shortages of fuel, food, medication, water, and essential medical supplies. This siege resulted in a 90% drop in electricity availability, impacting hospital power supplies, sewage plants, and shutting down the desalination plants that provide drinking water. Doctors warned of disease outbreaks spreading due to overcrowded hospitals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al-Shifa Hospital siege</span> 2023–2024 attack on and siege of a hospital in Gaza

Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest medical complex in Gaza, was placed under siege by Israel in mid-November 2023 during the Israel–Hamas war, after saying it had contained a Hamas command and control center beneath it. The incident was followed by a second major raid by Israeli forces in March 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Attacks on health facilities during the Israel–Hamas war</span>

A significant number of attacks on healthcare facilities occurred during the Israel–Hamas war. During the first week of the war, there were 94 attacks on health care facilities in Israel and Gaza, killing 29 healthcare workers and injuring 24. The attacks on healthcare facilities contributed to a severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza. By 30 November, the World Health Organization documented 427 attacks on healthcare in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, resulting in 566 fatalities and 758 injuries. By February 2024, it was reported that "every hospital in Gaza is either damaged, destroyed, or out of service due to lack of fuel." By April, WHO had verified 906 attacks on healthcare in Gaza, the West Bank, Israel, and Lebanon. As of June 2024, according to WHO, Israel has attacked 464 health care facilities, killed 727 health care workers, injured 933 health care workers, and damaged or destroyed 113 ambulances


The European Hospital is a public hospital in Al-Fukhari near Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestine. It was founded by the UNRWA with a grant from the European Union in 1989.

Shuhada al-Aqsa Hospital is a hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Palestine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the Gaza Strip healthcare collapse</span>

During the Israel–Hamas war, the healthcare system of Gaza was destroyed by Israeli attacks on hospitals and health facilities, killing of healthcare workers, and blockade of medical supplies from entering Gaza. The resulting collapse of the healthcare system was part of a broader humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip caused by the war.

Many health workers have been killed during attacks on medical facilities and medical transport in the Israel–Hamas war. Although the injuries happened both on the Israeli side and on the Palestinian side, most of these attacks were carried out by Israeli forces against Palestinians.

The following is a list of events during the Israeli–Palestinian conflict in 2024, including the events of the Israel–Hamas war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Effect of the Israel–Hamas war on children in the Gaza Strip</span>

As a result of the Israel–Hamas war, children have been disproportionately impacted in the Gaza Strip, where 40% of the population is 14 or under. In November 2023, UNICEF reported that more than 700,000 children in Gaza were displaced. A dire humanitarian crisis, with reports of children suffering from a serious epidemic of gastroenteritis due to the lack of clean water, led to concerns amongst health officials and aid organizations. Speaking to reporters early in the conflict, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned that "Gaza is becoming a graveyard for children. Hundreds of girls and boys are reportedly being killed or injured every day." As of August 2024, at least 115 newborns had been reported killed since October 2023.

During the Israel–Hamas war, the Nasser Hospital faced multiple attacks, including a siege and raid in January and February 2024. The hospital siege by Israeli forces created severe shortages of food, anesthesia, and painkillers. Reports emerged of Israeli snipers targeting individuals outside the hospital. Despite international calls for restraint, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) ordered the evacuation of displaced people inside the hospital on 13 February 2024. On 15 February, Israeli soldiers raided the hospital. The hospital had completely ceased functioning by March 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of North Gaza</span> 2024 engagement in the Gaza Strip

The siege of North Gaza is an ongoing engagement of the Israel–Hamas war in the North Gaza Governorate, Gaza Strip, between Israel and Hamas-led Palestinian forces. It began on 5 October 2024 when the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reinvaded Jabalia and its refugee camp for the first time in months since earlier fighting.

References

  1. ↑ "Gaza's last working hospitals face shutdown due to lack of fuel and medical supplies". The National. 24 May 2024.
  2. ↑ Redmond, Craig. "An urgent call to save the staff and patients of Gaza's al-Awda Hospital". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2024-12-04.
  3. ↑ "Northern Gaza: Al-Awda hospital, one of the area's last functioning health facilities, may be forced to cease operations - Relief International". www.ri.org. 2024-10-24. Retrieved 2024-12-04.
  4. ↑ "Gaza: MSF doctors killed in strike on Al-Awda Hospital | Doctors Without Borders - USA". www.doctorswithoutborders.org. Retrieved 2024-12-04.
  5. ↑ "Situation Report from the Humanitarian Coordinator - 4 January 2009 as of 17:00" (PDF). UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. 4 January 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 January 2009. Retrieved 4 January 2009.
  6. ↑ "Evacuation orders by Israel to hospitals in northern Gaza are a death sentence for the sick and injured". www.who.int.
  7. ↑ Gadzo, Mersiha; Pietromarchi, Virginia; Mohamed, Edna. "As Israeli tanks surround hospitals, UN calls northern Gaza 'hell on Earth'". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2023-11-10.
  8. ↑ "MSF doctors killed in strike on Al-Awda hospital in northern Gaza". Doctors Without Borders. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  9. ↑ "MSF says Gaza's al-Awda Hospital 'damaged' in Israeli blast". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  10. ↑ Marcetic, Branko. "As Israel Besieges al-Awda Hospital, War Crimes in Gaza Have Become Unremarkable". Jacobin. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  11. ↑ Ludwig, Mike. "IDF Shot at Pregnant Civilian Outside Gaza Hospital Under Siege, Staffer Says". Truthout. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  12. ↑ "Al-Awda Hospital in north Gaza under siege, Israeli sniper kills two". Jordan News. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  13. ↑ Patil, Anushka. "Israeli forces raid another hospital and detain doctors, Gaza's health ministry says". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  14. ↑ "Northern Gaza: MSF surgeon injured in Al-Awda hospital". Doctors Without Borders. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  15. ↑ "Staff at Gaza's al-Awda Hospital in strong spirits amid 'severe siege', director says". The New Arab. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  16. ↑ "Israeli army has turned Al-Awda Hospital into 'military barracks': Gaza-based Health Ministry". www.aa.com.tr. Retrieved 2023-12-19.
  17. ↑ "Israeli forces taken control of al-Awda hospital in northern Gaza, says MSF". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  18. ↑ Jobain, Najib; Magdy, Samy. "Israeli airstrikes kill dozens more Palestinians across the Gaza Strip". Stars and Stripes . Associated Press. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  19. ↑ Palestinian doctor dies in Israeli prison, BBC news, 3 May 2024.
  20. ↑ "Gaza: WHO chief calls for end to latest hospital siege". UN News. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  21. ↑ "Doctor recounts being displaced from al-Awda Hospital in Jabalia". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  22. ↑ "MSF sounds alarm on situation at al-Awda Hospital in northern Gaza". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  23. ↑ "WHO chief makes 'urgent' appeal as Israeli forces storm Gaza's al-Awda Hospital". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
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