What Is the Fate of Kamal Adwan Hospital?
Will it share the fate of other hospitals destroyed by the Israeli occupation and rendered non-functional?
Relentlessly and without respite, the occupying army continues its attacks on the hospital, attempting to incapacitate it through bombing, artillery shelling, shooting, and even storming the premises. Medical staff are arrested, doctors and hospital workers are killed, ambulances and fire trucks are burned, and essential infrastructure such as power generators and fuel and water tanks are destroyed. The occupying forces appear intent on paralysing and obliterating this hospital.
On Monday morning, 16 December 2024, Dr Hossam Abu Safiya, the hospital director, reported casualties and injuries among staff and patients at Kamal Adwan Hospital due to the continued shelling by the occupation forces.
He stated that the hospital is facing a catastrophic situation because of the bombardments and direct attacks by the occupying forces, which threaten the lives of patients and medical personnel. He also spoke of drones targeting the hospital’s electrical generators around the clock. Dr Abu Safiya drew international attention to the severe damage to the hospital’s infrastructure caused by the shelling, which has almost wholly disrupted its operations. He highlighted that any attempt to repair the damage is met with renewed drone attacks.
Dr Abu Safiya explained that despite prior agreements to evacuate the wounded and deliver supplies to the hospital, occupation aircraft attacked ambulances, injuring ambulance drivers, several patients, and one hospital worker during transport.
The occupation is conducting a sustained assault on the hospital, while the international community remains ineffective in protecting the healthcare system. Commenting on this, Dr Abu Safiya stated, “We die every day in the hospital, and now we are being attacked without warning.”
Despite daily warnings issued by the hospital, the world remains silent, unresponsive, and indifferent to the tragedy in Gaza, particularly in the north. Occupation forces block the entry of humanitarian aid, and any assistance that does arrive is destroyed or burned in bombings. Today, Dr Abu Safiya warned of an impending disaster if urgent action is not taken to deliver essential supplies and repair the damages inflicted on the hospital.
Dr Abu Safiya also reported that the bodies of victims lie near the hospital’s northern gate, as medical staff are unable to retrieve them due to constant shelling targeting any movement in the area. Injuries have also been recorded among medical personnel attempting to evacuate victims for burial.
Summary of the Situation:
Catastrophic and tragic conditions at the hospital and its surroundings due to continuous attacks and siege by the occupying forces.
Medical staff are unable to recover the bodies of victims or assist the wounded near the hospital gate and its vicinity.
Severe damage to the hospital was caused by bomb explosions and mines in the area.
Drones continue to bombard the hospital without pause.
The hospital faces an imminent disaster due to shortages of essential supplies, including flour, and insufficient medical and food aid.
Nidal Hamad
16/12/2024
