Destroying Gaza's healthcare system is a war crime: Foreign Policy

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Foreign Policy
11 Feb 2024 01:48
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An article published on FP suggests that "Israel’s" destruction of Gaza’s health care system is an important part of the genocide charges and a war crime.

Palestinians wounded during the Israeli air and ground offensive in Khan Younis are brought to a hospital in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hatem Ali)

The Foreign Policy magazine pointed out that the "less noted pillar" in the case against "Israel" with the International Criminal Court (ICJ) is its systematic attack on the medical infrastructure in the Gaza Strip.

In an article published on its website on Friday titled "Destroying Gaza's Healthcare System is a War Crime," the magazine argued that "there is a particularly cruel circular logic at play here: Israeli forces, as they bomb and besiege Gaza, are creating an urgent need for medical care among civilians while simultaneously denying them access to it."

"Israel’s destruction of Gaza’s health care system is not only an important part of the genocide charges—it is also a blatant war crime that should be prosecuted outright by the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has an active investigation underway of war crimes in Palestine," the magazine stressed.

It also identified key milestones in the process of destroying the healthcare system in the Gaza Strip, emphasizing that Israeli attacks on healthcare facilities began immediately after the Palestinian Resistance's Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7.

Within the first 36 hours, according to Foreign Policy, Israeli occupation forces targeted the Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahia, Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, and Al-Quds Hospital in Gaza City, among several other facilities.

As of November 24, 30 out of Gaza's 36 hospitals had been bombed, with many experiencing repeated attacks, even as medical personnel, patients, and civilians seeking shelter remained inside, the magazine emphasized.

It recalled that as of January 30, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported 342 healthcare-related attacks in Gaza, resulting in hundreds of deaths and injuries.

According to Foreign Policy, currently, every hospital in Gaza is either damaged, destroyed, or non-operational due to fuel shortages, with only 13 hospitals partially functioning.

The magazine noted that the hospitals, ambulances, and clinics that survived the bombings have been severely weakened by blockades and hindrance of humanitarian convoys, explaining that this has deprived healthcare providers not only of essential resources like water, fuel, and electricity but also of critical medical supplies, such as oxygen, blood, and anesthesia.

The Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital and Al-Rantisi Specialized Hospital for Children, the sole healthcare facilities in Gaza catering to adults and children undergoing cancer treatment, have been subjected to bombing, blockade, and compelled closure, the magazine noted.

Adding insult to injury, Foreign Policy warned that "the combination of forced mass displacement, unhygienic conditions caused by interrupted sanitation services and sewage treatment, and interrupted vaccination will inevitably drive disease outbreaks in the future, functionally resulting in a form of indirect biological warfare."

This comes as the Ministry of Health in Gaza highlighted on Saturday that in 24 hours only, "Israel" committed 16 massacres in Gaza, killing 117 Palestinians and injuring 152 others, which raises the total Gazan death toll to 28,064 martyrs, with 67,611 others injured, on day 127 of the Israeli genocide.