Healthcare destruction key point in Israeli Gaza genocide: Abu Sitta
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British-Palestinian surgeon Ghassan Abu Sitta expressed that "Israel killed a thousand healthcare workers, doctors, nurses, and lab technicians to eliminate an entire generation of healthcare professionals."
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A Palestinian woman sits on a bed in a room of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, on August 25, 2024. (AP)
Israeli authorities viewed the destruction of medical centers and the healthcare system in the Gaza Strip as groundwork for genocide in the strip, British-Palestinian surgeon Ghassan Abu Sitta revealed.
The surgeon noted that the demolishing of the healthcare system in Palestine was the core of the Israeli doctrine from the start, detailing how it was done to "make the Gaza Strip uninhabitable."
According to Abu Sitta, the occupation had the intention of destroying the entire system, detailing how 33 out of 36 hospitals providing services were destroyed.
Abu Sitta emphasized that "Israel killed a thousand healthcare workers, doctors, nurses, and lab technicians to eliminate an entire generation of healthcare professionals."
The doctor stated that Israeli occupation forces (IOF) damaged Gaza's healthcare infrastructure by destroying water treatment and sanitation facilities. Additionally, it ruined inhabitants' homes, making them more susceptible to infectious illnesses.
He stressed that "Israel" views the devastation of Gaza's healthcare sector as a forerunner to the genocidal agenda.
“I do not know of any war in modern history where the systematic destruction of the healthcare system was central to the doctrine of the warring armies, but the destruction of the healthcare system played a pivotal role in disrupting life in Gaza from Israel’s perspective,” Abu Sitta stated.
The British-Palestinian doctor emphasized the need to hold Israeli officials, troops, and politicians accountable in The Hague for the damage of Gaza's healthcare system.
"Otherwise, every future war will follow the model of Gaza, as the destruction of the healthcare system played a central role in the management of the war," according to Abu Sitta.
He added that Interpol should issue warrants for Israeli leaders, soldiers, and politicians and that the International Criminal Court (ICC) should do the same, enabling countries to arrest Israelis.
2,500 Gaza children face death without urgent medical evacuation: UN
Days ago, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for the urgent evacuation of 2,500 children injured during the 15-month-long Israeli war on Gaza to receive urgent medical treatment.
His appeal follows a meeting with US doctors who warned that the children face an "imminent risk of death" in the coming weeks.
The four doctors, who had volunteered in Gaza during the 15-month-long war on Gaza, described the dire state of the territory’s healthcare system, which has been severely affected by the ongoing war.
Guterres said he was "deeply moved" after his discussion with the US doctors on Thursday. "2,500 children must be immediately evacuated with the guarantee that they will be able to return to their families and communities," he wrote on social media.
Just days before a ceasefire began on 19 January, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that over 12,000 Palestinians were awaiting medical evacuations and had hoped for an increase in transfers during the truce.
Among those in urgent need of treatment are 2,500 children, according to Feroze Sidhwa, a trauma surgeon from California who worked in Gaza from 25 March to 8 April last year.
"There’s about 2,500 children who are at imminent risk of death in the next few weeks. Some are dying right now. Some will die tomorrow. Some will die the next day," Sidhwa told reporters after meeting with Guterres.
