WHO: Hospitals in Palestine have been transformed into death scenes

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen
21 Nov 2023 03:33
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The World Health Organization releases a statement following the Israeli attack on the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza City and confirms the attack killed 12 people.

A wounded Palestinian boy is carried into the Nasser Hospital following Israeli bombardment on Khan Younis refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, Palestine, on November 20, 2023. (AP)

The World Health Organization (WHO) released a statement saying that it was "appalled" by the Israeli attack on the Indonesian Hospital in North Gaza.

The health organization reiterated that "health workers and civilians should never have to be exposed to such horror, and especially while inside a hospital."

Moreover, the statement highlighted the fact that the Indonesian Hospital is still under siege to this point, adding that basic necessities have been cut off from healthcare workers and patients, as well as their families.

WHO said that it had recorded 335 attacks on healthcare institutions in "occupied Palestinian territory" since October 7, including institutions in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank.

In detail, WHO said that the Gaza Strip was attacked 167 times while the West Bank was attacked 171 times.

"The world cannot stand silent while these hospitals, which should be safe havens, are transformed into scenes of death, devastation, and despair," the organization stressed.

The statement comes after Israeli occupation attacked the Indonesian Hospital, killing 12 people including patients and those accompanying them.

Earlier, our correspondent reported that a number of healthcare workers including doctors were injured by the Israeli attack on the hospital, adding that an Israeli tank fired a shell at its operating room.

Israeli tanks continued to besiege the hospital while another attack on the hospital's courtyard was recorded, according to our correspondent in Gaza.

Al Mayadeen's health sources confirmed that Israeli occupation forces shelled the second floor of the hospital, destroying large sections of it. Moreover, thousands of forcibly displaced individuals continue to seek shelter in the health facility.

It is worth noting that 201 doctors have been killed in Gaza as a result of "Israel's" direct targeting of healthcare facilities in the Strip.

Amnesty verifies Israeli crimes in the Gaza Strip

Earlier on Monday, Amnesty International, in its continuous investigation into violations of the laws of war, recorded two representative incidents where Israeli airstrikes resulted in the killing of 46 civilians, including 20 children. The age range of the victims spanned from an 80-year-old woman to a three-month-old baby.

These attacks are deemed to be potential war crimes and necessitate a thorough investigation, Amnesty International acknowledged.

The airstrikes occurred on October 19 and 20, targeting a church where hundreds of displaced civilians sought refuge in Gaza City and a residence in the al-Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.

Following an in-depth investigation, Amnesty International has concluded that these strikes were either indiscriminate attacks or direct assaults on civilians or civilian structures, demanding an inquiry into potential war crimes.