Gaza Health Ministry urges international community to halt Israeli aggression on hospitals

By Aysar Al-Ayas

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) - The Health Ministry in Gaza on Friday urged the international community to intervene to halt the Israeli aggression on the health sector amid ongoing genocide in Gaza.

In a statement, the ministry appealed to the international community, rights and health groups, and the International Committee of the Red Cross "to intervene immediately to stop the brutal Israeli aggression on the healthcare system, its staff, patients, and the injured."

The statement noted that the Israeli army is blowing-up hospitals and killing those inside before the world.

"Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza is facing a new war crime, as (Israeli) occupation forces commit various forms of killing and violence within the hospital and its surroundings," the statement said.

It added that only 17 hospitals in Gaza are partially operating out of 36, amid lack of medical supplies, medicines and fuel.

Early on Friday, the Israeli army withdrew from the Kamal Adwan Hospital after raiding it for few hours, during which the army arrested medical staffers and patients, and forcibly kicked others out of the hospital.

Since Oct. 5, Israel has launched a large-scale ground operation in northern Gaza to allegedly prevent Palestinian resistance group Hamas from regrouping.

Palestinians, however, accuse Israel of seeking to occupy the area and forcibly displace its residents.

Since then, no humanitarian aid, including food, medicine, and fuel, has been allowed into the area, leaving most of the population there on the verge of famine.

Israel has launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip following a Hamas attack last October, killing more than 44,600 people, most of them women and children, and injuring nearly 106,000.

The second year of the genocide in Gaza has drawn growing international condemnation, with officials and institutions labeling the attacks and blocking of aid deliveries as a deliberate attempt to destroy a population.

On Nov. 21, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and 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 deadly war on Gaza.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar