'Israel' bombards refugee, press tents within Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital
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The Government Media Office in Gaza has announced that Israeli occupation forces once again bombed refugee tents within Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.
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A Palestinian walks through the site of an Israeli strike in the courtyard of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Saturday, November 9, 2024 (AP)
The Government Media Office in Gaza reported Saturday that Israeli occupation forces bombed tents housing journalists and displaced people within Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza for the ninth time this year.
The devastating attack, a blatant violation of international law, killed two people and wounded 26 others, with some sustaining critical wounds. Among the injured were two journalists, according to the media office.
The attacks on the hospital's grounds began in January 2024, occurring on multiple dates: January 10, March 31, July 22, August 4, September 5, September 27, October 7, October 14, and most recently, November 9. The Government Media Office condemned these repeated strikes, asserting that Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital is a civilian-protected facility under international law.
Holding the Israeli occupation, the US, and their allies accountable, the Office described the bombings as part of a "systematic campaign" targeting hospitals, journalists, civilians, and displaced populations in Gaza.
It called on the international community and global organizations to pressure the Israeli occupation to cease these "genocide and ethnic cleansing" operations against civilians and critical infrastructure in the besieged territory.
In a statement marking the 400th day of the genocidal war, officials reported updated figures showing that the Israeli occupation forces had killed 188 journalists, executed 138 academics, professors, and researchers, and taken the lives of 1,054 medical personnel and 85 civil defense workers.
Four other martyred journalists were added to the previous toll of 184 journalists killed in the Israeli aggression on Gaza: Al-Zahraa Muhammad Abu Sakhil and Ahmad Muhammad Abu Sakhil, who worked as journalists for News Media Network, and Mustafa Khodor Bahr, who worked as a correspondent and journalist for Palestine Breaking News, and Abdul Rahman Khodor Bahr, who worked as a photojournalist for Palestine Breaking News.
The Government Media Office condemned in the strongest terms the targeting, killing, and assassination of Palestinian journalists by the "Israeli" occupation and held it fully responsible for committing this heinous crime.
The Office also called on the international community, international organizations, and those related to journalistic work in the world to deter the occupation and prosecute it in international courts for its ongoing crimes and to pressure it to stop the crime of genocide and the crime of killing and assassinating Palestinian journalists.
Additionally, the Office documented the deaths of entire Palestinian families, with 1,367 families erased from civil records in 3,798 recorded massacres.
The Gaza Ministry of Health also reported that the Israeli occupation forces killed 43,552 people and wounded 102,765 others since the start of the genocidal campaign in Gaza on October 7, 2024. In the 24 hours only, Israeli forces committed four massacres against families, killing 44 people and wounding 81 others, according to the Ministry's latest report.
Women and children the most affected
The UN Human Rights Office revealed in a recent report that nearly 70% of those killed in Gaza from November 2023 to April 2024 are women and children, describing this high civilian toll as a severe breach of international humanitarian law.
This latest report has sounded the alarm about systematic violations of laws meant to protect non-combatants during conflict.
The report attributes the high civilian death toll to "Israel's" use of weapons with expansive area effects in Gaza's densely populated urban zones.
"Our monitoring indicates that this unprecedented level of killing and injury of civilians is a direct consequence of the failure to comply with fundamental principles of international humanitarian law – namely the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precautions in attack," stated UN human rights chief Volker Turk.
According to the detailed analysis, about 80% of the victims were killed in residential buildings or similar housing, out of which 44% were children and 26% were women.
