By Volker Türk*
GENEVA | 4 January 2025 (IDN) — A human rights catastrophe continues to unfold in Gaza before the eyes of the world. Israel’s means and methods of warfare have killed tens of thousands of people, inflicted vast displacement, and laid waste to the territory. This has raised utmost concerns about compliance with international law.
A recent report by my Office covering the period between 7 October 2023 and 30 June 2024 documents patterns of attacks on hospitals, starting with Israeli airstrikes, followed by raids by ground troops, the detention of some patients and staff, the forced removal of others, and the withdrawal of troops, leaving the hospital essentially non-functional. The report also details the killings of patients, staff, and other civilians.
and other armed groups continue to launch sporadic and indiscriminate attacks on Israel, and reportedly to expose civilians and civilian infrastructure, including health facilities, to attack, by operating amongst them, which is totally unacceptable.
The protection of hospitals during warfare is paramount and must be respected by all sides, at all times.
The destruction of hospitals across Gaza goes beyond depriving Palestinians of their right to access adequate healthcare.
Those hospitals provided sanctuary for thousands of people with nowhere else to go.
The destruction wrought by the Israeli military’s attacks last Friday on Kamal Adwan hospital – the last functioning hospital in North Gaza – reflects the patterns of attacks documented in the report. Some staff and patients were forced from the hospital while others, including the General Director, were detained, with many reports of torture and ill-treatment.
The Israeli military announced the next day that its months-long operation in North Gaza was concluded, with the separation of North Gaza from Gaza City. We are now seeing reports that parts of North Gaza are almost completely emptied of Palestinians.
We have repeatedly warned that Israel’s military operations in North Gaza place the entire Palestinian population of the governorate at risk, through death and displacement.
For months, we reported intense bombardment on residential buildings, shelters, and medical facilities, displacement orders, the prevention of the entry of aid, attacks on Palestinians trying to flee, and on their shelters once they reached Middle Gaza.
Across Gaza, Israeli military operations in and around hospitals, and associated combat, have had a terrible impact, precisely at a time of massive demands on healthcare due to the ongoing conflict.
They have been particularly devastating for certain Palestinian civilians. Six babies have reportedly died of hypothermia in the past few days alone.
Women, especially those who are pregnant, have suffered gravely. Many women have given birth with little or no support, increasing risks to both mother and child. My Office has been told that newborns have died as a direct result of this lack of care.
According to the Ministry of Health of the State of Palestine, more than 100,000 Palestinians have been injured in Gaza. Many of these wounded people have died while awaiting treatment, because of lack of access to healthcare.
All this is occurring against the backdrop of increased obstacles placed before the United Nations and other humanitarian agencies in bringing aid, including urgent medical supplies, into Gaza and distributing them across the territory.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, more than 1,050 medical professionals have been killed in Gaza.
It is important to note that medical personnel are civilians who serve a critical function, particularly in wartime. They enjoy special protections under international law.
The recent report by my Office documents at least 136 strikes on at least 27 hospitals and 12 other medical facilities in Gaza, which caused significant death and injury among doctors, nurses, medical staff and other civilians, and damaged or destroyed many of the buildings targeted.
In the exceptional circumstances when medical personnel, ambulances, and hospitals lose their special protection, and are considered military objectives, attacks on them must still comply with the fundamental principles of distinction, proportionality and precautions in attack.
Military operations must always distinguish between military targets and civilians. The use of heavy weapons against hospitals is difficult to reconcile with that principle.
Failure to respect these principles is a breach of international humanitarian law.
Intentionally directing attacks against hospitals and places where the sick and wounded are treated, provided they are not military objectives, is a war crime.
Under certain circumstances, the deliberate destruction of healthcare facilities may amount to a form of collective punishment, which would also constitute a war crime.
If committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack on a civilian population, such acts may also amount to crimes against humanity.
In most instances, Israel alleges that the hospitals were being improperly used for military purposes by Palestinian armed groups. I have, in fact, just received a letter from the Israeli Ambassador, asserting that Kamal Adwan hospital was militarized by Hamas and that Israeli forces took extraordinary measures to protect civilian life while acting on credible intelligence.
Yet Israel has not provided sufficient information to substantiate many of these claims, which are often vague and broad. In some cases, they appear to be contradicted by publicly available information.
If these allegations were verified, this would raise serious concerns that Palestinian armed groups were using the presence of civilians intentionally, to shield themselves from attack, which would also amount to a war crime.
This is why I am calling for independent, thorough and transparent investigations into all Israeli attacks on hospitals, healthcare infrastructure and medical personnel – as well as the alleged misuse of such facilities.
I once more warn in the strongest terms about the risk of atrocity crimes being committed in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
I urge all those with influence to take action accordingly and to protect civilians as a matter of absolute priority.
It is essential that there is full accountability for all violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.
It is imperative that all parties do everything in their power to stop the fighting in Gaza so that a long-term ceasefire can take hold.
All hostages must be released immediately and unconditionally.
It is imperative that all those arbitrarily detained are released at once.
I call on Israel, as the occupying Power, to ensure and facilitate access to lifesaving humanitarian aid, including adequate healthcare, for the Palestinian population.
I urge Israel to end its continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as rapidly as possible, in line with relevant UN resolutions, the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice, and wider international law.
And I call for future recovery and reconstruction efforts to prioritise the restoration of the healthcare system in Gaza.
*Volker Türk is the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. These are excerpts from his briefing on 3 January 2024 to the Security Council on the provision of healthcare in Gaza. [IDN-InDepthNews]
Photo credit: Eyad Baba / AFP
