Gaza Hospital Staff Out of Contact After Raid
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Hashim Sheikh - . December 27, 2024
- . Update: December 27, 2024 8:11 pm
One of three hospitals on the northern border of the Gaza Strip “Kamal Adwan Hospital” was stormed by Israeli troops on Friday. According to officials, the raid resulted in the burning of substantial portions of the hospital and the expulsion of hundreds of people including dozens of patients. According to medical professionals and the civil emergency service, Israeli strikes in Gaza have killed at least 25 individuals including 15 in a single home in Gaza City.
Contact with personnel inside the Beit Lahiya hospital which has been under intense Israeli military pressure for weeks has been lost according to the Palestinian health ministry. “The occupation forces are inside the hospital now and they are burning it,” ministry director Munir Al-Bursh said in a statement.
Although it provided no specifics, the Israeli military claimed to have “facilitated the secure evacuation of civilians, patients and medical personnel prior to the operation” and to have made an effort to prevent harm to civilians. It said in a statement that during the conflict, fighters from the Palestinian Hamas organization which formerly ruled the Gaza Strip had operated out of the hospital.
The surgical section, laboratory and storage were all set on fire by Israeli forces according to Youssef Abu El-Rish who is the deputy health minister appointed by Hamas. According to Palestinian medical personnel, Israeli forces have been attacking the northern border of the Gaza Strip for weeks and Kamal Adwan has been targeted on multiple occasions just like the Indonesian and Al-Awda hospitals.
According to Bursh, 350 individuals were told to leave Kamal Adwan for a nearby school that was providing shelter to displaced families by the army. They comprised 185 medical personnel, 75 patients and their partners. Abu El-Rish said patients and staff were transferred to the damaged and evacuated Indonesian Hospital. Footage showed smoke near Kamal Adwan Hospital, where five medical staff including a pediatrician were reportedly killed by Israeli fire. The military said it would investigate.
Much of northern Gaza has been destroyed with speculation of a future buffer zone which Israel denies. Hamas blames Israel and the U.S. for the hospital casualties. The war sparked by Hamas’ October 7th attack that killed 1,200 and took 251 hostages has left over 45,300 Palestinians dead and Gaza in ruins.
