Gaza's Kamal Adwan Hospital under 'unprecedented' direct attack
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Israeli occupation forces have heavily bombed Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, causing severe damage to critical departments, including those for children.
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A doctor and nurse treating a newborn in an incubator on October 24, 2024 (AP)
The Israeli occupation is extensively bombing Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, causing severe damage to its departments, including the children's care department and the nursery, amid urgent pleas for help from medical staff in the Gaza Strip.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in the Gaza Strip reported Saturday evening that the IOF are firing heavily at the gates of Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip, coinciding with artillery shelling in its vicinity.
Kamal Adwan Hospital Director, Hussam Abu Safiya, said, "The hospital was directly bombed with shells and fire, penetrating the walls and hitting several departments, including the children's and nursery departments, causing severe damage."
Abu Safiya added this was an "unprecedented attack" on the hospital and the doctors, who gathered in one place.
Israeli troops have been surrounding the Kamal Adwan Hospital in north Gaza using armed drones, self-detonating robots & other military vehicles pic.twitter.com/GgWnp4RJfx
— Sarah Wilkinson (@swilkinsonbc) December 21, 2024
In an audio recording distributed to reporters, he held the international community responsible for the unfolding situation.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent later reported that several were injured in the Israeli shelling of the laboratory department at the hospital.
On its part, the Ministry of Health in Gaza emphasized that Kamal Adwan Hospital came under "very intense and violent shelling, without any prior warning" with bombs and tank fire.
Furthermore, it held the world responsible for the current aggression and demanded they "assume their responsibilities toward our suffering," adding that it is unacceptable for the world to remain silent.
PHOTOS|| Israeli occupation forces are directly firing at Kamal Adwan hospital, where dozens of healthcare workers and patients, including children and women, are being besieged inside. pic.twitter.com/k2hTJc20UR
— PALESTINE ONLINE 🇵🇸 (@OnlinePalEng) December 21, 2024
In an earlier statement on Saturday, the ministry appealed to the international community to bring aid, medicine, and goods to Kamal Adwan Hospital, noting that “patients in the hospital and all other health centers and hospitals operating in the Gaza Strip are threatened with death."
IOF once again bomb Kamal Adwan Hospital in north Gaza
The Israeli attacks on the hospital have been ongoing for some time now.
The Israeli occupation military carried out intense artillery shelling near the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, on December 18, setting the intensive care unit on fire, Al Mayadeen's correspondent in occupied Palestine reported.
Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the hospital director, said, "We were shocked by the entry of [military] vehicles and bulldozers into the hospital vicinity, preceded by terrifying attacks on nearby homes."
He indicated that the hospital was suddenly and recklessly targeted with all kinds of weapons, with a deliberate and clear assault on the intensive care unit.
"We managed, miraculously, to evacuate patients who were on ventilators from the ICU before it caught fire," Abu Safiya added, noting that this is the only intensive care unit in northern Gaza.
Describing the situation as "very catastrophic and still dangerous," he pointed out that hospital staff attempted to extinguish the flames using basic tools, as the facility had been suffering from a water shortage for eight days due to Israeli attacks on water tanks and the supply network.
Abu Safiya confirmed that the intensive care unit is now out of service and the situation is disastrous, adding, "We appealed to the world over 75 days ago for protection for the healthcare system and its workers, but to no avail."
🌐 شاهد | مدير مستشفى كمال عدوان الدكتور حسام أبو صفية يتحدث عن استهداف الاحتلال للمشفى واشتعال النيران في قسم العناية المركزة pic.twitter.com/EbhJ24zdF4
— المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام (@PalinfoAr) December 18, 2024
Gaza a ‘crucible of suffering’ for civilians: Irish president
"Israel" has gone beyond any humanitarian law borders since the start of its murderous campaign against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, said Irish President Michael D. Higgins.
Higgins, whose tenure ends in 2025, made specific notice of the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza and other war zones around the world in his final Christmas message to the country on Friday.
He condemned international passivity on civilian killings and called Gaza "a crucible of suffering for children and their families" with nearly 45,000 dead, 17,000 of whom are children, and possibly 11,000 beneath the rubble.
The Irish president emphasized how the silence of many figures amid the gross human rights violations "grants impunity to those who blatantly impose collective punishments on civilians, including starvation, which, as I speak, particularly affects women and children."
