Description

Photo:
Scene. Published by IMEMC News
____

by IMEMC News
Mar 27, 2024

After having besieged and taken over the al-Shifa Hospital in central Gaza for over a week, and forcing the Al-Amal Hospital in south-central Gaza out of commission, Israeli forces on Wednesday have now launched a full-on attack on the staff and patients at Al-Nasser Hospital.

Al-Amal Hospital, run by the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) in Khan Younis, is now out of service after dozens of soldiers, who surrounded it for a month, invaded it, and forcibly evacuated everybody in the facility on Tuesday.

A number of Palestinians were killed and others were injured, at dawn on Wednesday, in a series of Israeli raids and artillery shelling when the occupation forces stormed the Nasser Medical Complex, west of Khan Younis, and arrested medical staff and displaced people from inside and around the hospital.

Health sources in the Gaza Strip announced the death of at least three civilians and the injuries of dozens of others after an Israeli shelling targeted two houses in Khirbet al-Adas and the Al-Sha’out neighborhood in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah.

The sources added that the Israeli occupation forces stormed the Nasser Medical Complex, west of Khan Yunis, and demanded a number of medical staff and displaced people, noting that those forces shot at displaced young men after ordering them to evacuate the medical complex.

On the fifteenth of last February, the Israeli occupation forces stormed the Nasser Medical Complex, and turned it into a military barracks, after demolishing the southern wall, and entering it amid heavy gunfire.

Israeli boats shelled the beach of Nuseirat refugee camp, while artillery shelled the western areas of Khan Yunis city in the southern Gaza Strip.

The vicinity of Al-Shifa Medical Complex, west of Gaza City, witnessed clashes and Israeli artillery shelling, which resulted in the death of a number of wounded martyrs.

A number of civilians were killed and others were injured, on Tuesday evening, in an Israeli raid on the Al-Mawasi area, west of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, where local sources reported that 12 citizens were killed, including children, and others were injured, in a raid by the Israeli occupation warplanes targeting a tent housing displaced people in the Al-Mawasi area.

The toll of the continuous Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip since the seventh of last October rose to 32,414 killed and 74,787 injuries, while thousands of victims are still under rubble and on the roads, and ambulance and rescue crews cannot reach them.
_____

IFRC statement on the closure of Al-Amal Hospital in Gaza [EN/AR]

Press Release:
Geneva/Beirut, 26 March 2024

Al-Amal Hospital and the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) headquarters in Khan Yunis has ceased functioning. For over 40 days, sustained hostilities in and around Al-Amal Hospital, have placed the lives of critical patients, injured civilians, medical staff, and PRCS teams in grave danger, transforming the hospital into a battleground when it should be a sanctuary.

All PRCS staff and hundreds of critically injured and displaced people seeking refuge and treatment within its complex were forced to evacuate. These same people, already bearing the scars of displacement, face the daunting task of finding new shelters amidst the uncertainty.

With the PRCS being a major provider of healthcare services in the Gaza Strip, the forced closures of both its operational hospitals, Al-Quds and now Al-Amal, have now rendered its critical healthcare services non-functional. The health services in northern Gaza have been largely destroyed, and the southern Gaza Strip's healthcare system is on the brink of collapse. The cessation of operations in most northern hospitals, due to acute fuel shortages, absence of medicines, and medical equipment, coupled with the lack of safe access, has been catastrophic. The forced closure of Al-Amal Hospital, one of the few remaining medical facilities in the south, has profound implications, leaving countless lives at risk.

Marked clearly with the red crescent emblem, Al-Amal Hospital is protected under International Humanitarian Law. The Red Cross, Red Crescent, and Red Crystal emblems represent neutrality and impartial humanitarian assistance, promising protection in times of conflict and disaster.

We call on all parties to adhere to their obligations under International Humanitarian Law, ensuring the protection of civilians, healthcare workers, and facilities. We call for rapid and unimpeded passage for humanitarian aid, and safe and unhindered access for humanitarian workers.

The IFRC stands in solidarity with the PRCS, advocating for the protection of all medical facilities and personnel. We honor the courage of PRCS volunteers and paramedics, many of whom have faced personal loss or detention, yet remain unwavering in their selfless response to those in need. Since the beginning of the conflict, we have lost 18 members of our network: 15 from PRCS and three from Magen David Adom. Any attack on healthcare workers, ambulances, and medical facilities is unacceptable.

In the midst of conflict, access to healthcare is not just a necessity---it is a matter of life and death. The people of Gaza have endured unimaginable suffering; healthcare remains one of their last bastions of hope.

For more information, contact: media@ifrc.org

In Beirut:

Mey Alsayegh: +961 3 229 352

In Geneva:

Mrinalini Santhanam: +41 76 381 50 06
Andrew Thomas: +41 76 367 65 87

Features