Israeli regime destroys Rafah's only governmental hospital

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen
20 Nov 2024 06:14

Israeli occupation forces sent explosive-laden vehicles into a hospital in Rafah to destroy it.

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The site of a deadly fire, after an Israeli strike hit a tent area hosting displaced Palestinians in the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, on October 16, 2024. (AP)

The Ministry of Health in Gaza said that Israeli occupation forces destroyed the Mohammed Yousef al-Najjar Hospital in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, using explosive-laden unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs).

Dr. Marwan al-Hams, Director-General of Field Hospitals in the besieged territory said that the governmental hospital's destruction came in line with the systematic Israeli assault on health infrastructure in Gaza.

He revealed that Israeli occupation forces deployed explosive-laden UGVs to destroy the medical facility.

"The hospital provided health and medical services to 300,000 people," al-Hams explained.

"The hospital served over 1.5 million displaced and local residents during the genocidal war before the occupation's invasion of Rafah Governorate," he added.

The health official called on the international community to take serious action and protect, restore, and revive the Gaza Strip's health sector.

Meanwhile, the Israeli regime continues its comprehensive assault on the health and emergency services across every governorate in the Gaza Strip. The Ministry of Health reported that "dozens of hospitals and medical centers have been destroyed and rendered out of service," during the war on Gaza.

Al-Hams said that Israeli forces "deliberately target medical teams," adding that they have deliberately killed "over 1,000 doctors, nurses, and healthcare workers to date."

The Ministry also noted that "in the past hours, the Israeli army directly targeted Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, specifically its administrators, without any justification."

The Ministry called on "the international community and all international and UN organizations to stop this war and genocide against [Palestinian people], protect hospitals, secure medical teams, and work to restore and reopen hospitals before it is too late."

Al-Hams concluded by stressing that "Gaza is experiencing a catastrophic phase unprecedented in any country in the world," urging the global community to "take serious and effective action to rescue the humanitarian and health situation before it is too late."