Gaza Hospitals on Brink Amid Israeli Strikes: UN Alleges War Crimes
UN Report Accuses Israel of Targeting Critical Healthcare Facilities in Gaza, Sparking Claims of War Crimes While Israel Stresses Compliance with International Law
A newly released report by the United Nations Human Rights Office (OHCHR) has thrust the perilous state of healthcare in Gaza into the international spotlight, alleging that Israeli attacks have brought the region’s medical capacity to the brink of collapse.
The report raises sweeping allegations against Israel, suggesting potential war crimes and crimes against humanity, due to strikes and evacuations of healthcare facilities that have led to further loss of life in an already embattled region.
The period analyzed, spanning from October 2023 to June 2024, revealed that 136 strikes targeted 27 out of 38 hospitals in Gaza, claiming numerous lives, including those of medical personnel, and left significant infrastructure in ruins.
This assessment comes amid heated claims by Israel that hospitals have been strategically utilized by Palestinian armed groups, including Hamas, as sites for military operations—a charge the UN report finds poorly substantiated by existing evidence.
Israel maintains that its military operations adhere to international humanitarian law, emphasizing that any actions are meticulously planned to avoid civilian casualties, and purporting that Hamas exploits civilian locales for military advantage.
"It is the murderous terrorist organisation Hamas that uses civilians as human shields," asserted Israel’s mission in Geneva, repudiating the UN report as biased and politically motivated.
The report follows accusations in the wake of an Israeli military raid on the last operational hospital in northern Gaza, a move Israel defended by citing potential use by Hamas as a command center.
This incident is part of a broader conflict that intensified following Hamas’s deadly assault on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, prompting Israel’s vigorous military campaign.
Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, imparted somber reflections on the dire humanitarian conditions: "As if the relentless bombing and the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza were not enough, the one sanctuary where Palestinians should have felt safe in fact became a death trap." Türk underscored the necessity for all sides to uphold the protection of hospitals under the conventions of international law, warning that deliberate attacks on healthcare facilities could also represent forms of collective punishment.
Conversely, Israel has reported measures taken to shield civilians, including the provision of aid and establishment of field hospitals, yet the deteriorating situation in Gaza remains palpable.
With thousands already killed and wounded, the destruction bleeds beyond structural damage, affecting maternal care, emergency medical treatment, and leaving a beleaguered health system gasping for respite.
As international calls for independent investigations grow, the echoes of OHCHR’s documentation provide a sombre reminder of the human cost of conflict—all eyes are now on how Israel, as the dominant military force, and Hamas, accused of exploiting civilian sites, will respond to rising pressures for accountability and transparency.
The report raises sweeping allegations against Israel, suggesting potential war crimes and crimes against humanity, due to strikes and evacuations of healthcare facilities that have led to further loss of life in an already embattled region.
The period analyzed, spanning from October 2023 to June 2024, revealed that 136 strikes targeted 27 out of 38 hospitals in Gaza, claiming numerous lives, including those of medical personnel, and left significant infrastructure in ruins.
This assessment comes amid heated claims by Israel that hospitals have been strategically utilized by Palestinian armed groups, including Hamas, as sites for military operations—a charge the UN report finds poorly substantiated by existing evidence.
Israel maintains that its military operations adhere to international humanitarian law, emphasizing that any actions are meticulously planned to avoid civilian casualties, and purporting that Hamas exploits civilian locales for military advantage.
"It is the murderous terrorist organisation Hamas that uses civilians as human shields," asserted Israel’s mission in Geneva, repudiating the UN report as biased and politically motivated.
The report follows accusations in the wake of an Israeli military raid on the last operational hospital in northern Gaza, a move Israel defended by citing potential use by Hamas as a command center.
This incident is part of a broader conflict that intensified following Hamas’s deadly assault on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, prompting Israel’s vigorous military campaign.
Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, imparted somber reflections on the dire humanitarian conditions: "As if the relentless bombing and the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza were not enough, the one sanctuary where Palestinians should have felt safe in fact became a death trap." Türk underscored the necessity for all sides to uphold the protection of hospitals under the conventions of international law, warning that deliberate attacks on healthcare facilities could also represent forms of collective punishment.
Conversely, Israel has reported measures taken to shield civilians, including the provision of aid and establishment of field hospitals, yet the deteriorating situation in Gaza remains palpable.
With thousands already killed and wounded, the destruction bleeds beyond structural damage, affecting maternal care, emergency medical treatment, and leaving a beleaguered health system gasping for respite.
As international calls for independent investigations grow, the echoes of OHCHR’s documentation provide a sombre reminder of the human cost of conflict—all eyes are now on how Israel, as the dominant military force, and Hamas, accused of exploiting civilian sites, will respond to rising pressures for accountability and transparency.
