By Mohamed Majed
GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - The Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani Hospital for Rehabilitation and Prosthetics in Gaza announced late Sunday that it was severely damaged as a result of Israeli airstrikes on the enclave.
The hospital “was subjected to significant damage as a result of the violent and continuous Israeli bombardment on its surroundings,” the Qatar-built hospital said in a statement.
The hospital was established in 2016 under the directive of Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani to build a facility specialized in installing prosthetic limbs and rehabilitation in the Gaza Strip.
"This attack is not the first,” the statement said. “The hospital building was damaged in 2021 as a result of Israeli bombardment at the time."
"These massacres, collective punishment, retaliatory attacks and attacks on civilians and infrastructure constitute a grave violation of international humanitarian law and amount to war crimes," the hospital added.
The hospital is considered one of the important medical facilities in Gaza and works to empower patients and provide rehabilitation services, prosthetics and physical and occupational therapy and also has speech, hearing and psychological rehabilitation departments.
Since Oct. 7, Israeli forces have been targeting the Gaza Strip in response to a military offensive by the Palestinian group Hamas in Israeli territories.
The conflict began when Hamas initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, a multi-pronged surprise attack including a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel via land, sea, and air.
Hamas said the operation was in retaliation for the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and Israeli settlers' growing violence against Palestinians.
The Israeli military then launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets within the Gaza Strip.
Israel's response has extended to cutting water and electricity supplies to Gaza, further worsening living conditions in an area that has endured a crippling siege since 2007, as well as ordering more than 1 million Gazans in the northern Strip to evacuate to the southern region.
The number of Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza has risen to 2,670, the local Health Ministry said Sunday.
In a statement, the ministry said that 750 children were among the dead. The number of wounded has risen to 9,600, it said.
Meanwhile, Israel’s general death toll so far stands at 1,300, while the number of confirmed injured Israelis exceeds 3,400.