Israel well-documented history of targeting health care, says Norwegian doctor in Gaza

By Esra Tekin

ISTANBUL (AA) — Israel has a well-documented history of targeting ambulances, hospitals, primary healthcare facilities, and health professionals in various incidents, a Norwegian doctor serving in the Gaza Strip has told Anadolu.

"During the last three weeks, the WHO (World Health Organization) has documented more than 100 attacks on health care in Gaza and in the West Bank," said Dr. Mads Gilbert, who has worked for 16 years at the al-Shifa Hospital, the largest medical complex in the Gaza Strip.

Commenting on claims by Israel that the facility acts as the main headquarters of Palestinian resistance group Hamas, Gilbert said that throughout his time working at al-Shifa, he had never encountered any indication of a "military command center."

Pointing out that Israel has failed to produce evidence of such a center al-Shifa, despite "a sophisticated intelligence system" capable of ground scanning and comprehensive population data, he asked: "If they (Israel) are so sure about this command center that they have been talking about for 16 years now, where is the proof?"

"Why is it that this brilliant Israeli intelligence system has not been able to put forward any proof?" he added, comparing Israel's claims to "false" evidence of Iraqi possession of weapons of mass destruction presented by former US Secretary of State Colin Powell to the UN Security Council.

"These are all the lies of war. Israel is a ... chronic liar," he added.

Gilbert also said that if Palestinians survive the Israel’s attack, Israel’s intention is to subject them to starvation, thirst, physical harm, and psychological torment with the goal of instilling fear and ultimately eliminating the population.

"If you're not killed during the Israeli bombing, they want to starve you, to thirst you, to bleed you, and scare you to death.

"That's the tactic of a colonial power, who is trying now to have the final lap in their settler-colonial project to get rid of any Palestinians, the politics of elimination, and to occupy both the West Bank and the whole of the Gaza," he said.

The Israeli army has widened its air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip, which has been under relentless airstrikes since the surprise offensive by Hamas on Oct. 7.

Nearly 10,800 people have been killed in the conflict, including at least 9,227 Palestinians and more than 1,538 Israelis.