Israel's persistent attacks erode Gaza's hospital infrastructure: Forensic Architecture

By Muhammet Tarhan

Israel has crippled hospitals and medical infrastructure in the Gaza Strip through a recurring pattern of attacks by targeting hospital surroundings with direct hits, besiegement and occupation.

The Israeli military has continued to target hospitals where thousands of displaced Palestinians, including the injured and sick, have sought refuge since Oct. 7.

Forensic Architecture, a London-based research group, analyzed hundreds of reports published by media organizations such as Al Jazeera, Al Arab, and Shehab News Agency, that described the attacks on hospitals, hospital surroundings and medical infrastructure in the northern Gaza Strip.

The analysis chronologically presented Israel's actions of rendering the hospitals unusable by bombing them on a map using animated graphics.

They cumulatively forced the hospitals out of service and attacks rendered hospitals in northern Gaza non-operational.

As of Nov. 2, Israel disabled half of the hospitals.

By Oct.14, news reports indicated that two hospitals had been forced out of service by Israeli forces.

By Oct. 31, hospital surroundings had been bombed while Israeli forces occupied the ground, the surroundings of Indonesia, Al-Shifa, Al-Rantisi Children's, Al-Quds, Al-Ahli Baptist, Turkish Hospital and Al-Wafa hospitals.

Due to military activities in areas in northern Gaza, five hospitals -- Al-Quds, Al-Shif, Al-Rantisi, Kamal Adwan and Indonesia -- became shelters for thousands who were forcibly displaced.

"Between 2 Nov. and 7 Nov., airstrikes directly targeted two hospitals, reportedly forcing them out of service.

"By 11 Nov. reports suggest that they were besieged by the Israeli military and forced out of service," said the report.

It said by Nov. 24, Indonesia, Al-Shifa, and Al-Rantisi hospitals were occupied by the Israeli military and forced out of service.

"As of 19 Dec., the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that nine out of 36 hospitals in Gaza are partially functional, all in the south. Four hospitals in the north offer minimal services to already admitted patients, lacking electricity and supplies, and are surrounded by Israeli forces," it said.

In November, Israeli forces imposed a strict blockade on the Al-Shifa Hospital, directly targeting patients, those injured in the conflict, medical staff and the displaced.

The army withdrew from Gaza's largest hospital Nov. 25, approximately 10 days after its incursion.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since the Hamas attack, killing more than 20,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring 52,586, according to health authorities in the enclave.

Israeli attacks have left Gaza in ruins with half of the coastal territory's housing stock damaged or destroyed, and nearly 2 million people displaced within the densely populated enclave amid shortages of food and clean water.

Nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.