Health facilities and ambulances enjoy protected status under international humanitarian law, Human Rights Watch says.
Israel’s repeated attacks on medical facilities, health personnel and ambulances in Gaza should be “investigated as a war crime”, international NGO Human Rights Watch said.
The Israeli army’s ‘apparently illegal attacks’ are further destroying Gaza’s health system at a time when doctors have unprecedented numbers of seriously injured patients and hospitals are running out of medicines and basic equipment , the group said on Tuesday.
“Despite the Israeli army’s assertions on November 5, 2023 about “Hamas’ cynical use of hospitals,” no evidence put forward would justify depriving hospitals and ambulances of their protective status under international humanitarian law” , added HRW.
A war crime is a serious violation of international humanitarian law committed with criminal intent. HRW urged the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate Israel’s actions.
The “devastated” health system
As of November 10, two-thirds of primary health care facilities and half of all hospitals in Gaza were not functioning, according to the United Nations. And as of November 12, at least 521 people, including 16 medical workers, had been killed in 137 “attacks on health care” in Gaza, the World Health Organization said.
“Israel’s repeated attacks damaging hospitals and harming healthcare workers, already hard hit by an illegal blockade, have devastated Gaza’s health infrastructure,” said A Kayum Ahmed, special adviser for the right to health at HRW . “Strikes on hospitals have killed hundreds of people and put many patients in danger because they cannot receive proper medical care. »
Between October 7 and November 7, HRW said it investigated attacks on or near five health facilities in Gaza.
He revealed that Israeli forces struck the Indonesian hospital several times between October 7 and 28, killing at least two civilians; the International Eye Hospital was hit several times and completely destroyed on October 10 or 11; the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital was forced to close its doors on November 1, a few days after air raids on or near the establishment; a man and a child injured after repeated attacks on al-Quds hospital; and Israeli forces repeatedly hit marked ambulances – at least a dozen people were killed or injured in an incident outside al-Shifa hospital on November 3.
“These ongoing attacks are not isolated. Israeli forces also carried out numerous strikes damaging several other hospitals across Gaza,” HRW said.
“Special protections”
“Intentionally directing attacks against…medical units and transports” is prohibited as a war crime under the ICC’s Rome Statute, HRW noted.
“Hospitals and other medical facilities are civilian objects with special protections under international humanitarian law or the laws of war. Hospitals only lose their protection against attack if they are used to commit “acts harmful to the enemy” and after a required warning,” the statement said.
Israel claims that Hamas fighters have set up command centers under hospitals like al-Shifa and the Indonesian Hospital – something Hamas and hospital staff deny.
“These claims are disputed,” HRW said. “Human Rights Watch has not been able to corroborate them, nor has it found any information that would justify attacks on Gaza hospitals. »
HRW also criticized the “radical nature” of Israeli evacuation orders, which do not take into account the specific demands of hospitals and patients. The group said there was no way to ensure safe compliance as “there is no reliable and safe way to flee or a safe place to go in Gaza”, which raised concerns on the fact that “the aim was not to protect civilians, but to terrify them and push them to leave”. .
“The Israeli government should immediately end illegal attacks on hospitals, ambulances and other civilian objects, as well as its total blockade of the Gaza Strip, which amounts to a war crime of collective punishment,” HRW said .
He added that Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups should also take necessary precautions to protect civilians under their control.
