Palestinian Health Ministry calls for end to ‘massacres’ against Gaza's hospitals

By Awad Rajoub

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) - The Palestinian Ministry of Health on Friday urgently appealed for intervention to halt what it termed "massacres" against hospitals in Gaza amidst ongoing Israeli siege and bombardment.

In a statement, the minister of Health in Ramallah, Mai Al-Kaila called for "an end to the massacres against hospitals and patients, medical staff, and displaced people sheltering in hospitals," adding that "the catastrophe that is occurring in Gaza now has not been witnessed in Palestinian and international history."

“Hospitals are besieged, bombed, and those in them are killed in front of the entire world, without Israel taking into account the law, morals, or customs. This is a massacre,” the minister added.

She described the current situation as a deliberate decision to allow deaths, citing the lack of fuel and medical supplies as reasons for the increasing fatalities among the wounded.

The minister highlighted the dire condition of Gaza's healthcare infrastructure, noting that 20 out of 35 hospitals in Gaza are now completely non-functional.

Almost all hospitals in the besieged Gaza Strip came under Israeli attacks and airstrikes in the last 24 hours, including Al-Shifa, which saw at least four rounds of Israeli airstrikes in the same period.

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip – including hospitals, residences, and houses of worship – since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas on Oct. 7.

At least 11,078 Palestinians have been killed, including 4,506 children and 3,027 women. The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, is nearly 1,600, according to official figures.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi