The World Health Organization (WHO) said Friday that an Israeli raid on the Kamal Adwan Hospital put “the last major health facility” in the northern Gaza Strip out of service, calling an end to “this horror.”
Initial reports indicate that some key departments were severely burned and destroyed during the raid, while 60 health workers and 25 patients in critical condition, including those on ventilators, reportedly remain at the hospital, it said on X.
The UN agency said patients in moderate to severe conditions were forced to evacuate to the destroyed and non-functional Indonesian Hospital. “WHO is deeply concerned for their safety,” it said.
“This raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital comes after escalating restrictions on access for WHO and partners, and repeated attacks on or near the facility since early October,” it said. “Such hostilities and the raids are undoing all our efforts and support to keep the facility minimal functional. The systematic dismantling of the health system in Gaza is a death sentence for tens of thousands of Palestinians in need of health care.”
“This horror must end and health care must be protected. Ceasefire!” it added.
Israel launched a large-scale ground offensive in northern Gaza on Oct. 5 to allegedly prevent the Palestinian group, Hamas, from regrouping. Palestinians, however, accuse Israel of seeking to occupy the area and forcibly displace its residents.
No sufficient humanitarian aid including food, medicine and fuel has since been allowed into the area, leaving the remaining population on the verge of imminent famine.
Israel has killed more than 45,400 victims in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, reducing the enclave to rubble.
Last month, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.