Palestinian doctors and rights activists have denounced the killing of a top medical official in Gaza by the Israeli army, accusing Israel of systematically targeting the besieged enclave’s health system.
Israel bombed a clinic in Gaza City on Sunday evening, killing Hani al-Jaafarawi, the director of Gaza’s ambulance and emergency services, and four others.
The targeted clinic, which offered general health, pediatric and dental services, was also knocked out of service by the Israeli attack.
“Israeli warplanes bombed the clinic and completely destroyed its rooms,” Ismail Algoul, Tel Aviv Tribune’s Arabic correspondent, said from Gaza City.
“The blood of those targeted is still on the ground, while today thousands of patients are in danger after the clinic lost all its facilities following the Israeli raid. »
Eyad Zaqout, director of the emergency department at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir el-Balah, told Tel Aviv Tribune on Monday that by killing al-Jaafarawi, Israel had removed “a pillar” of the territory’s crumbling health system. .
“It is clear that Israeli forces are once again attempting to completely destroy the health and medical system in Gaza,” Zaqout said.
“Hani al-Jaafarawi was a pillar of Gaza’s health system. He worked hard to (and) served the sick and injured. It served day and night for those living in very difficult circumstances in Gaza. »
The Gaza Health Ministry also hailed al-Jaafarawi as a role model for his dedication and commitment to medical duty as well as helping sick and injured Palestinians despite the enormous challenges posed by the Israeli offensive.
“The Ministry of Health renews its demands to the international community and global organizations to end the heinous Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip and protect the health system and its workers,” the ministry said in a statement.
It says 500 health workers have been killed by Israel and 310 others detained since the war on Gaza began in October.
The Israeli military said Monday its attack targeted a “Hamas weapons production headquarters” and killed a senior Hamas official responsible for developing the group’s combat capabilities.
For its part, the United States said conflicting reports surrounding the attack made it “very difficult to establish the truth.”
“Clearly, activists should not hide behind civilians – that has been the case all along. And Israel must take every precaution to minimize harm to civilians,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Monday.
Missing children
Meanwhile, Israel continued its bombing of Gaza. The Health Ministry said Monday that the death toll from the war had reached at least 37,626.
Save the Children said on Monday that around 21,000 children were missing in Gaza.
“It is almost impossible to collect and verify information under the current conditions in Gaza, but at least 17,000 children are believed to be unaccompanied and separated and around 4,000 children are likely missing under the rubble, with an unknown number also in mass graves. ” the charity said in a statement on Monday.
“Other people have been forcibly ‘disappeared’, including an unknown number, arrested and transferred out of Gaza, without their families knowing their whereabouts, amid reports of ill-treatment and torture.
At least seven Palestinians were killed Monday in Khan Younis while waiting for much-needed aid, health officials said.
The Palestinian Civil Defense said it had recovered the bodies of five Palestinians, including three children and a woman, after an Israeli attack in central Gaza.
Israel also advanced deeper into Rafah in southern Gaza, where Israeli army chief Herzi Halevi said the army was close to “finishing off” Hamas.
“We have huge achievements in the battle for Rafah… this can be seen in the number of terrorists killed, the volume of infrastructure destroyed, the tunnels (destroyed) and the advancement of the underground war, which is very complex “Halevi said. according to the Jerusalem Post newspaper.
Truce proposal
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on Sunday that the “intense phase of the fighting against Hamas was about to end.”
Netanyahu told Israel’s Channel 14 that Israel would be open to a “partial” truce with Hamas to secure the release of Israelis held by the group, but would not agree to end the war.
His remarks appeared to contradict the US claim that Israel had accepted a proposal from Washington that would lead to a “lasting” ceasefire.
US officials have stressed that Hamas was the party blocking the multi-phase deal, presented by President Joe Biden in May.
Hamas said Netanyahu’s remarks show that Israel is not seeking a ceasefire deal but is seeking to buy time to continue the “war of extermination” against Gaza.
“It is now clear to the world that it is Netanyahu who is rejecting and obstructing the agreement proposed in Biden’s speech and in the latest UN Security Council resolution, not Hamas,” Izzat al-Rishq, a senior member of the group, said in a statement Monday.
The Israeli prime minister appeared to walk back his comments later on Monday, saying his government was “committed to the Israeli proposal, which President Biden welcomed.”
The US State Department suggested that Netanyahu had misspoke.
“I think all of us who speak publicly sometimes make mistakes and errors of language, and when we do, we have an obligation to clarify. And we’re glad he did it,” Miller said.