The Director-General of the UN health agency, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has condemned the “effective destruction” of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza by Israeli forces over the weekend. The incident resulted in the tragic deaths of eight patients, including a nine-year-old child.
Israeli military raids persisted over four days last week, during which the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that numerous health workers were allegedly detained. Tedros expressed his dismay on the X social platform, stating, “Gaza’s health system was already on its knees, and the loss of another even minimally functioning hospital is a severe blow.”
With less than a third of Gaza’s 36 hospitals partially operational, only one remains in the enclave’s north.
“Attacks on hospitals, health personnel, and patients must end. Ceasefire NOW,” insisted Tedros.
Displaced Persons’ Tents Bulldozed
Many patients at Kamal Adwan had to self-evacuate “at great risk to their health and safety” while ambulances struggled to reach the facility, according to the WHO chief. On Saturday, Israeli forces withdrew from the hospital, and media reports indicate that “an Israeli military bulldozer flattened the tents of a number of internally displaced persons outside the hospital, killing and wounding an unconfirmed number of people,” as stated by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Tedros, in a statement on X, expressed extreme concern for the well-being of the displaced people. The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah has called for an investigation into the incident, as OCHA quoted the Israeli army confirming the detention of 90 individuals during the operation, claiming to have found weapons and munitions inside the hospital.
Communications Blackout
OCHA emphasized that the telecommunications and internet blackout in Gaza, starting last Thursday and continuing into the weekend, limited their latest update on the humanitarian situation in the Strip to “limited” information from the past 24 hours. Gaza’s health authorities have not updated casualty numbers since the blackout began, standing at 18,787 fatalities and over 50,000 people injured since October 7.
The UN Office reported ongoing “heavy Israeli bombardments” across the Strip, particularly in Khan Younis in the south and various areas of Gaza City in the north. Intense fighting persisted between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups in Khan Younis and Rafah, accompanied by continued rocket fire from Palestinian armed groups into Israel, according to OCHA.
Second Border Crossing Opens for Aid
The humanitarian situation in the enclave remains dire, with most of the population displaced into a confined area in the south, facing unsanitary conditions and a lack of food and water. Hopes for an increased scale-up of aid deliveries received a boost with the announcement on Friday of the reopening of the Kerem Shalom border crossing between Israel and Gaza, welcomed by the aid community.
Reportedly opening on Sunday for the first time since October 7, the Kerem Shalom border crossing joins the Rafah border crossing in the south, which resumed deliveries on October 21.
“The fast implementation of this agreement will increase the flow of aid,” said UN emergency relief chief Martin Griffiths, who heads OCHA, reacting to the development, “but what the people in Gaza need most is an end to this war.”
