Kamal Adwan Hospital siege | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip and the alleged Gaza genocide | |||||||
|
During the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, the Kamal Adwan Hospital, a hospital in Beit Lahia, Gaza Strip, Palestine, has been besieged multiple times by the Israel Defense Forces.
On December 27, the Israeli army stormed the hospital, setting it on fire, and forcibly removed patients and staff from the hospital. [1] At the time Kamal Adwan was the last remaining major medical facility in the north Gaza. [2]
The IDF cited finding tunnels, weapons, and command centers within the hospital grounds as evidence for their claim that the hospital was exploited for military purposes by Hamas. [3] Hospital staff denied the allegations. [4]
The Kamal Adwan Hospital was a site of conflict during the 2023 Israel–Hamas war following the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip. Israel's targeting of Kamal Adwan came amidst a broader Israeli targeting of health facilities in the Gaza Strip. On 3 December, the IDF struck in the vicinity of Kamal Adwan hospital, killing at least four people according to Al-Jazeera. [5] On 11 December, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital stated Israel had killed two mothers and their newborn babies when Israel targeted its maternity ward. [6] According to UN News, the "maternity department was reportedly hit during shelling and two mothers were killed". [7] As of August 2024, the Kamal Adwan Hospital houses the only functioning neo-natal ICU left in Gaza. [8]
On 12 December, Israel raided the Kamal Adwan Hospital. [9] [10] The head of pediatrics stated the IDF had ordered all men and boys above age 16 to leave the hospital to be searched. [11] Seventy medical staffers were arrested and taken to an unknown location. [12] The head of the World Health Organization, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, stated he was "extremely worried" about the situation at Kamal Adwan. [13]
The IDF released a video claiming that it showed alleged terrorists near Kamal Adwan reportedly surrendering their weapons. [14] These claims were quickly challenged by family members who identified their non-combatant relatives. [15]
On 14 December, the Gaza Health Ministry reported that 2,500 internally displaced persons had been forcibly evacuated, and that IDF soldiers had prevented medical staff from continuing support to 12 babies in intensive care and ten emergency department patients, leading to two deaths. [16] Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated patients had evacuated Kamal Adwan hospital, resulting in the deaths of patients, including a nine-year-old. [17]
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs stated on 16 December that according to media reports "an Israeli military bulldozer flattened the tents of a number of internally displaced persons outside the hospital, killing and wounding an unconfirmed number of people." [18] One reporter described "a terrifying massacre and unspeakable scenes" and stating, "Dozens of displaced, sick and wounded people were buried alive". [19] A man stated his 25-year-old son had been buried alive by IDF bulldozers at Kamal Adwan and in the same report the IDF was accused of necroviolence by running over corpses with a bulldozer. [20] A video purporting to be footage of the incident circulated but France24 reported that the video was unrelated to the hospital siege. [21] Director general of the Gaza Health Ministry, Munir al-Bursh, claims to have been shot at by Israeli forces while giving a press conference in front of the hospital, and that Israeli forces arrested 70 medical professionals. [22]
Israel claims that the hospital was used to shelter terrorists, arguing that this invalidated the protection provided by the Geneva Conventions. [23] Israel claims to have arrested 80 Hamas operatives in the base and had found weapons in the location. [23] Staff reported the Israeli troops shooting at doctors and setting dogs to maul handicapped patients. [24]
During the 12 December raid, Israel captured 90 individuals, among them was the hospital's director, Ahmed Kahlout. [25] On 19 December, Israeli security agency, Shin Bet, released a video of Kahlout confessed to being a Hamas militant and said the hospital was being used for "terror purposes". [26] The Gaza Health Ministry said confessions were extracted under duress. [27]
During the video confession, Kahlout said he has the "rank of brigadier general". [28] The Gaza Ministry of Health clarified that Kahlout was part of the Palestinian Authority's Ministry of Interior, under the department of "Military Medical Services". [27] The ministry stated that military-style ranks are frequently used within medical corps all around the world. [27] Further in the video, Kahlout said that many hospital staff members, including doctors, nurses, paramedics, and others, also served as members of Hamas's al-Qassam brigades, and that Hamas concealed weapons within the hospital and integrated its operations into its functions. [26] [29] [28] The Gaza Health Ministry said that "Kahlot’s confessions were extracted under the use of force, coercion, torture and intimidation." [25]
In May 2024, Israel bombed the vicinity of the hospital, which the World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated on 19 May was "deeply worrisome". [30] Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated on 21 May that the hospital had been attacked four times in the prior twenty four hours. [31] The same day, the hospital was evacuated, though patients connected to machines were unable to be evacuated. [32] Medics stated on 22 May that missiles hit the hospital's emergency department. [33] On 24 May, Israeli forces massed outside the hospital entrance, leading the hospital's head of nursing to state, "It is considered practically, because it is besieged, not operational". [34] The hospital was hit twice by artillery. [35] On 25 May, the head of pediatrics stated Israeli forces were still surrounding the hospital. [36] Upon Israel's withdrawal from the Jabalia refugee camp, Gaza’s Hamas-run civil defense agency stated that the Israeli military had destroyed the hospital's main electrical generators. [37] [38] [39] In August 2024, officials at Kamal Adwan Hospital warned that the hospital was at risk of closure due to lack of fuel and medicine, putting 11 children at risk of death. [8]
In October 2024 during the siege of Northern Gaza, the Israeli military ordered the complete evacuation of the Kamal Adwan Hospital within 24 hours. [40] Dr. Hussam Abu Safia, the hospital's director, said the hospital would remain in service, stating, "We have babies and newborns that are in the ICU. Even if we can evacuate a few patients, we cannot leave the hospital because there is no other hospital that is providing services and treatment to children". [41] As Israel's deadline for evacuation, the Israeli army was reported to be advancing on the hospital while "committing massacres against civilians". [42] On 24 October 2024, the hospital director stated the Israeli military was committing "deliberate murder." [43] He stated, "There are more than 15 cases that need surgeries that we cannot perform in the hospital". [44]
On 24 October 2024, video showed Israeli tanks firing on the hospital. [45] On 25 October, Israel raided the hospital. [46] The Palestinian health ministry stated 600 patients, companions, and staff were trapped. [47] The following day, the World Health Organization stated that while the hospital was still under siege, it had regained contact with its employees there, stating that four employees were injured, 44 health workers had been detained, and four ambulances were damaged. [48] The Gaza Ministry of Health stated that Israeli forces had detained all male medical staff. [49] On 27 October, Dr. Khalil Daqran stated only one medical staff remained in the entire hospital, and that Israeli forces had set parts of the hospital on fire, destroyed its entrances, and demolished walls. [50] On 28 October, the IDF said that it captured 100 Hamas militants during the raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital. Both local medics and Hamas denied there was any militant presence at the hospital. [51] Later that day, the IDF withdrew from the hospital. [52]
Following the raid, the Gaza Ministry of Health said that two children had died in the intensive care unit follow the failure of the hospitals generators, and that the oxygen station was targeted". [53] One of the two remaining doctors at the hospital warned that "patients and the injured are strewn all over the hospital floor". [54] Officials stated one doctor had been killed by an Israeli drone. [55] The W.H.O. stated they had continued with patient evacuations, as Kamal Adwan's building was damaged, four ambulances were destroyed, and patients needed medical supplies, food, and water. [56] On 31 October, the UN stated a bombing on the hospital's third floor had destroyed critical medical supplies. [57] On 4 November 2024, the head of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, wrote that shortly after a WHO mission, a reported attack on the third floor injured six child patients. [58] The same day, the health ministry stated that there were "many" injuries amongst patients and staff following Israel "violently bombard[ing]" the hospital. [59]
On 30 November 2024, the head of the Intensive Care Unit, Dr. Ahmed Al-Kahlout, was killed. [60] [61]
On 6 December 2024, the IDF conducted a "series of airstrikes on the northern and western sides of the hospital," which were followed with "heavy and direct gunfire," according to the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital. [62] At least 30 people were killed by Israeli bombing, and another 20 were left injured. [63] Later Israeli troops stormed the hospital and killed were four doctors, leaving the hospital without any experienced surgeons. [64] According to the World Health Organization, Israel issued "no warning" prior to the Israeli storming and strikes. [65]
On December 26, Hamas claimed an Israeli attack killed 50 people in a building adjacent to the hospital that was housing the hospital staff and their families. [66]
On December 27, the Israeli army stormed the hospital, and hospital officials said Israeli troops set parts of the hospital on fire. [67] [68] The Israeli army forced all patients and staff to leave, and videos showed that Israel had stripped the staff to their underwear and forced them to march from the hospital to an unknown destination. [66] [69] The Israeli army also reportedly switched off oxygen supplies. [66]
The surgical department, laboratory and a storehouse were initially set on fire, and this fire then spread to other parts of the hospital. [2] Footage in local media showed smoke rising from the hospital. [2] Israeli army claimed they never entered the hospital, that the fire in the hospital was "small", and that there was "no connection" between the fire and Israeli army's activities. [67]
The Israeli army also arrested 240 individuals it claimed as Hamas operatives during the operation, reinforcing its position that the hospital served as a critical point for Hamas operations. Additionally, the IDF stated that it had provided advanced warnings to civilians and staff, urging evacuation prior to the military actions, to minimize harm to innocent individuals. [3]
Kamal Adwan Hospital is now out of service, after its staff, patients, and equipment were transferred to the Indonesian Hospital, also in Jabalia. [70]
Palestinian health minister Mai al-Kaila called for a probe into Israeli actions at Kamal Adwan. [71] Israel says the hospital is a "Hamas terrorist stronghold", without providing any evidence. [2] [4] Hospital staff have denied the allegations. [4]
The Council on American–Islamic Relations called for a United Nations international probe. [72] Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated WHO was appalled at the hospital's "effective destruction". [73] The UN Human Rights Office called for an investigation. [74]
Al-Shifa Hospital was the largest medical complex and central hospital in the Gaza Strip, located in the neighborhood of northern Rimal in Gaza City.
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.
The Nasser Hospital was one of the largest hospitals in the Gaza Strip, Palestine.
The Israel–Hamas war, also known as the Gaza War, is an ongoing armed conflict between Israel and Hamas-led Palestinian militant groups. It is the fifth war of the Gaza–Israel conflict since 2008, and the most significant military engagement in the region since the Yom Kippur War in 1973. It is the deadliest war for Palestinians in the history of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.
The Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip is a major part of the Israel–Hamas war. Starting on 7 October 2023, immediately after the Hamas-led attacks on Israel, it began bombing the Gaza Strip; on 13 October, Israel began ground operations in Gaza, and on 27 October, a full-scale invasion was launched. Israel's campaign has four stated goals: to destroy Hamas, to free the hostages, to ensure Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel, and to return displaced residents of Northern Israel. More than 35,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the Israeli operation began, including more than 7,800 children and 4,900 women, with another 10,000 people missing and presumed dead under the rubble of destroyed buildings. There are allegations that Israel has committed war crimes and genocide during the invasion.
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.
Since the outbreak of the Israel–Hamas war on October 7, 2023, Israel has carried out mass arrests and detentions of Palestinians. Thousands have been arrested in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories and in Israel, based on alleged militant activity, offensive social media postings, or arbitrarily.
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.
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.
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
Shuhada al-Aqsa Hospital is a hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Palestine.
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.
The Gaza Strip faced a premature baby crisis during the Israel–Hamas war. The situation escalated when the Israeli Defense Forces raided Al-Shifa Hospital, Al-Nasr Children's Hospital, and Kamal Adwan Hospital. Reports of premature babies in intensive care having to be evacuated from Al-Shifa, as well as the destruction of embryos destined for implantation added to concerns about the rising number of preterm births in Gaza. The newborns gained global attention.
The following is a list of events during the Israeli–Palestinian conflict in 2024, including the events of the Israel–Hamas war.
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.
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.
On 19 October 2024, the Israel Defense Forces conducted attacks on Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, killing at least 92 Palestinians and injuring more than 100, with many more missing believed to be trapped under the rubble. Israeli airstrikes and artillery shells struck several buildings in densely packed residential blocks filled with local residents and evacuees, primarily in the western regions of the city.