UN report: The pattern of Israeli attacks on Gaza hospitals raises serious concerns about the occurrence of serious crimes

The report stated that the attacks, which were documented between October 12, 2023 and June 30, 2024, raise serious concerns about Israel’s compliance with international law. Medical personnel and hospitals are particularly protected under international humanitarian law, provided that they do not commit or are used to commit acts harmful to the enemy outside the scope of their humanitarian function.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, said: “As if the continuous bombing and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza were not enough, the only haven where Palestinians should feel safe has become a death trap. Protecting hospitals during war is crucial, and all parties must respect this principle at all times.”.

Turk explained that the report issued today details the devastation caused to the health care system in Gaza, and the extent of the deaths of patients, employees, and other civilians in these attacks. “In blatant disregard for international humanitarian and human rights law”.

Kamal Adwan and the pattern of documented attacks

The Commission said that the horrific devastation caused by the Israeli military attacks on Kamal Adwan Hospital last Friday, which left residents of northern Gaza with almost no access to adequate health care, reflects the pattern of attacks documented in the report, in which staff and patients were forced to flee or were subjected to arrest, With many reports of their being subjected to torture and ill-treatment. The hospital director was also arrested, and his fate and whereabouts remain unknown.

During the reporting period, there were at least 136 raids on at least 27 hospitals and 12 other medical facilities, resulting in heavy casualties among doctors, nurses, paramedics and other civilians, and causing serious damage to or complete destruction of civilian infrastructure.

Actions that may amount to war crimes

The report stated that intentionally directing attacks against hospitals and facilities where the sick and wounded are treated, provided that they are not military objectives, and intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population as such, or against individual civilians not directly participating in the hostilities, including launching indiscriminate attacks that lead to the death of or injuring civilians, and intentionally launching disproportionate attacks also constitute war crimes.

He added that under certain circumstances, the deliberate destruction of healthcare facilities may amount to a form of collective punishment, which in turn may constitute a war crime.

The report highlights that many of these acts, if committed within the framework of a widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian population in implementation of a state policy, or in implementation of an organizational policy in the case of non-state actors, may also amount to crimes against humanity.

The report stated that Israel claims, in most cases, that Palestinian armed groups were using hospitals, but to date it has provided little information to prove these allegations, which have remained vague and broad, and in some cases appear to be contradictory to publicly available information.

He added that if these allegations were verified, this would raise serious concerns that Palestinian armed groups are exploiting the presence of civilians to deliberately protect themselves from attacks, which amounts to a war crime.

Target beyond physical structures

The report concluded that the effects of Israeli military operations on hospitals and their surroundings extend beyond the physical structures, as women, especially pregnant women, have suffered horrific suffering. Many women gave birth to their babies with no or minimal prenatal and postnatal care, increasing the risk of preventable maternal and child deaths.

UNHCR received reports of newborn deaths due to mothers’ inability to undergo post-natal check-ups or access medical facilities to deliver their babies.

The report also explained that the increasingly limited health care system prevented many seriously injured people from receiving timely and perhaps life-saving treatment.

The Commission said that by the end of April 2024, according to the Ministry of Health of the State of Palestine, the number of wounded Palestinians had reached 77,704, adding that according to reports, many of the wounded died while waiting to be admitted to the hospital or receive treatment. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, more than 500 medical workers were killed in Gaza between October 7 and the end of June 2024.

Conduct independent and comprehensive investigations

The report referred to the first large-scale operation carried out by the Israeli army against a hospital, which affected the Al-Shifa Medical Complex in November 2023. It mentioned what was reported in reports that three mass graves were found, and that some of these bodies were found while they were still standing. Connected to catheters and cannulae, indicating that the dead were patients.

He also said that in the course of some of the attacks the Israeli army likely used heavy weapons, including 2,000-pound bombs.

The report concluded that another feature of these attacks is the clear, precise targeting of people inside hospitals, but in most of these cases it was difficult to determine who was behind them.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights stressed that “It is essential to conduct independent, comprehensive and transparent investigations into all these incidents, and to hold accountable those responsible for all violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.”.

He called for the immediate release of all arbitrarily detained medical personnel.

Türk stressed that Israel, as the occupying power, must give priority to ensuring and facilitating the Palestinian population’s access to adequate health care, and to future recovery and reconstruction efforts, with the aim of restoring medical capabilities that have been destroyed over the past fourteen months of violent conflict.