The
Palestinian Association for Human Rights (Witness) strongly condemns the ongoing
systematic attacks by the Israeli occupation forces on hospitals and healthcare
facilities in Gaza Strip. These attacks constitute a flagrant war crime under
international humanitarian law and demand an urgent international investigation
and legal accountability for those responsible.
On Sunday
night March 23, 2025, the Israeli occupation forces hit the surgical building
of Nasser Hospital in the city of Khan Younis killing five Palestinian
civilians and wounding several medical staff and patients. This attack adds yet
another crime to the occupation’s bloody record. A day earlier, on March 22,
Israel destroyed the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital, the only facility
in Gaza dedicated to treating cancer patients, depriving hundreds of their right
to medical care.
These
attacks extend beyond Khan Yunis, reaching Gaza’s largest hospital, Al-Shifa
Medical Complex, which has been subjected to systematic raids and destruction.
In November 2023, Israeli forces stormed the hospital for ten days, committing
grave abuses against patients and medical staff, including arrests and
killings. Another assault between March and April 2024 left large sections of
the facility in ruins, with fires and widespread devastation ultimately forcing
it out of service.
Human rights
reports estimate that nearly 32 hospitals and medical centers in Gaza have been
forced out of service since the assault began, including key facilities like
Al-Quds Hospital and the Indonesian Hospital, either due to direct strikes or imposed
sieges. The UN Human Rights Office, along with international medical
organizations such as Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) and
the Red Cross, have documented these attacks as part of a systematic pattern,
pointing to a deliberate effort to dismantle Gaza’s healthcare system.
Witness
emphasizes that the targeting of hospitals, which are granted special
protection under Article 18 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, is a clear
violation of international humanitarian law. Furthermore, Article 12 of
Additional Protocol I of 1977 mandates the respect and protection of medical
units at all times, prohibiting any attacks on them. These acts are war crimes
under Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which
criminalizes the deliberate and direct targeting of hospitals not being used
for military purposes.
Given the
above conditions, the Palestinian Association for Human Rights (Witness) calls
for:
1. An immediate investigation by the
International Criminal Court into the targeting of hospitals and medical
facilities in Gaza, as these actions constitute war crimes within the Court's
jurisdiction.
2.The World Health Organization and the Office of
the High Commissioner for Human Rights to dispatch fact-finding teams to Gaza
to document the extent of the damage and assess the catastrophic health impact
on the population.
3.An international pressure on the occupying
authorities to immediately halt the attacks and ensure full protection for
medical staff and facilities, in accordance with international obligations.
4.The state parties to the Geneva Conventions to
fulfill their legal obligations and take action to ensure the enforcement of
international humanitarian law in the occupied Palestinian territories.
5.The facilitation of border crossings and the
delivery of urgent medical and humanitarian aid, as well as enabling cancer
patients and others to travel for life-saving treatment.
- The
international community's silence on these crimes only emboldens the
occupation to persist in its punitive actions against civilians and
undermines the entire international legal system. In this context, Witness
emphasizes the urgent need for decisive action to halt this moral and
legal erosion.
March 24,2025