Israel Attacks North Gaza’s Last Hospital, Kamal Adwan

by Aysha Qamar

More than 150 patients and staff are trapped at the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya after an Israeli raid, the Palestinian Civil Defense in Gaza told Al Jazeera Friday.

Israeli Forces allegedly dragged wounded patients— including those with health complications— outside the buildings into the courtyard as they conducted a mass arrest.

The raid came a day after military officials shelled the compound of the hospital. Kamal Adwan Hospital is considered the last fully operating medical facility in Northern Gaza. Israel reportedly destroyed oxygen tanks vulnerable children were dependent on – leading to the death of children, Middle East Eye reported.

“Instead of receiving aid, we receive tanks… which are shelling the [hospital] building,” Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan hospital, said in a video shared on social media.

World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Ghebreyesus described the the raid as “deeply disturbing” adding that the hospital had been “overflowing with close to 200 patients – a constant stream of horrific trauma cases. It is also full of hundreds of people seeking shelter”.

As of Oct. 25, there is no fully functioning hospital in Gaza. Only 17 of 36 hospitals are partially functioning and the remaining 19 are out of service, according to WHO.

With attacks made on more than 84% of hospitals in Gaza, a United Nations inquiry has accused Israel of “crime of extermination” for implementing a “concerted policy” of destroying the health care system in Gaza under the guise of counterterrorism. The report will be presented to the UN General Assembly on October 30.

This post was first published on Muslim