From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, December 31, 2024
UN report says Gaza healthcare nearing ‘total collapse’ due to Israeli strikes
A United Nations report published today alleges that Israeli strikes on and near hospitals in the Gaza Strip had left healthcare in the Palestinian territory on the verge of collapse.
“Israel’s pattern of deadly attacks on and near hospitals in Gaza, and associated combat, pushed the healthcare system to the brink of total collapse, with catastrophic effect on Palestinians’ access to health and medical care,” the UN human rights office says in a statement.
Its 23-page report, entitled “Attacks on hospitals during the escalation of hostilities in Gaza,” looked at the period from October 7, 2023, to June 30, 2024.
It said that during this time, there were at least 136 strikes on 27 hospitals and 12 other medical facilities, claiming significant casualties among doctors, nurses, medics and other civilians and causing significant damage to, if not the complete destruction of, civilian infrastructure.
The report noted that medical personnel and hospitals are specifically protected under international humanitarian law, provided they do not commit, or are not used to commit, acts harmful to the enemy outside their humanitarian function.
Israel says that hospitals have been extensively used by terror groups who operate in and around the facilities, sometimes launching attacks from within.
Israel notes that hospitals lose their protected status under international law when used by armed operatives as military sites and to plan and launch attacks. It also says that it acts extensively to protect civilians in the hospitals and ensure their safe evacuation.
Israel has repeatedly published documentation of terrorists in hospitals and even shown hostages being hidden in medical facilities.
However, the UN report says it found that Israel’s repeated claims that Gaza hospitals were being improperly used for military purposes by Palestinian groups “vague.”
“Insufficient information has so far been made publicly available to substantiate these allegations, which have remained vague and broad, and in some cases appear contradicted by publicly available information,” the report says.
