Ismail al-Thawabta, director of the Government Media Office in Gaza, announced that the Israeli army directly targeted Al-Helou Hospital in Gaza City with two missiles, trapping patients and medical staff inside and preventing them from entering or leaving. He emphasised that the siege imposed on the hospital is exacerbating the suffering of hundreds of civilians trapped inside.

Israel bombs Al-Helou Hospital in Gaza City

According to eyewitnesses speaking to Anadolu Agency, Israeli forces are currently stationed around the hospital, located in the Al-Nasr neighborhood west of Gaza, as part of their ground deployment across several key axes within the city. This comes amid continued aerial and artillery bombardment and the bombing of residential buildings and civilian facilities, as part of Israel’s ongoing efforts to impose control over the city and displace its residents.

Al-Thawabta explained that doctors and patients at Al-Helou Hospital are living in “tragic” conditions amid a state of panic and fear, after the occupation cut off the hospital’s internet and communications network in order to isolate it from the outside world and stop the provision of humanitarian medical services to civilians. He stressed that targeting medical facilities constitutes:

a full-fledged war crime and crimes against humanity.

It adds to a long series of violations against the health sector in Gaza since the outbreak of the siege.

Destroying hospitals and rendering them out of action

The media official revealed that since the start of the genocide on 7 October 2023, the Israeli army has destroyed or rendered 38 hospitals completely out of service. This is in addition to targeting 96 healthcare centers and destroying or damaging 197 ambulances. It has led to the near complete collapse of the health system in the sector.

At the same time, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said that Israeli drones bombed the vicinity of Al-Shifa Medical Complex, Gaza’s largest hospital. It confirmed initial assessments indicating that it is difficult for patients to reach the complex as a result of the continuous bombing. The ministry added that it had lost contact with medical staff inside the hospital for hours, raising serious concerns for the lives of both staff and patients.

The ministry pointed to the seriousness of the health situation inside Al-Shifa, where Israel has trapped 12 newborns in intensive care units, with no possibility of transferring them or providing them with the necessary medical supplies due to the bombing and siege.

Doctors and local officials warn that the continued targeting of hospitals and health infrastructure in Gaza threatens an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe. It’s at a time when the number of wounded and displaced persons is increasing and the most basic health and humanitarian care is lacking.

Feature image via screengrab.

By Alaa Shamali

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