<\/p>\n
03 January 2025<\/p>\n
9830th Meeting (AM)<\/p>\n
Following Israel\u2019s 27 December attack on the last functioning hospital in north Gaza, the Security Council today heard calls for urgent international action to protect civilians and ensure accountability, including independent investigations into these incidents and the alleged misuse of medical facilities by Hamas.<\/p>\n
\u201cA human-rights catastrophe continues to unfold in Gaza before the eyes of the world,\u201d said Volker T\u00fcrk, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ High Commissioner for Human Rights.\u00a0 Citing a recent report by his Office, he pointed to a pattern of attacks on hospitals between 7\u00a0October\u00a02023 and 30\u00a0June\u00a02024 that begin with Israeli airstrikes and are followed by ground raids and the detention of patients and staff\u00a0\u2014\u00a0\u201cleaving the hospital essentially non-functional\u201d.\u00a0Meanwhile, Hamas and other armed groups continue to reportedly operate behind civilian infrastructure, including health facilities, exposing them to attacks.<\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s recent attack on Kamal Adwan Hospital\u00a0\u2014 the last functioning hospital in north Gaza\u00a0\u2014 \u201creflects the patterns of attacks documented in the report\u201d, he said, stating that Israeli military operations in and around hospitals across Gaza \u201chave had a terrible impact, precisely at a time of massive demands on healthcare due to the ongoing conflict\u201d.\u00a0 Underscoring that military operations must always distinguish between military targets and civilians, he observed:\u00a0 \u201cThe use of heavy weapons against hospitals is difficult to reconcile with that principle.\u201d<\/p>\n
While noting that Israel has alleged that hospitals were being improperly used for military purposes, he stated that Israel \u201chas not provided sufficient information to substantiate many of these claims\u201d.\u00a0Against that backdrop, he called 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cHospitals have become battlegrounds in Gaza,\u201d added Rik Peeperkorn, World Health Organization (WHO) Representative for the West Bank and Gaza, noting that the Strip\u2019s health sector is being \u201csystematically dismantled and pushed to the breaking point\u201d.\u00a0 Only 16 of 36 hospitals in Gaza remain partially functional, and most hospitals lack the capacity to treat chronic diseases and complex injuries.\u00a0 Further, the pace of medical evacuations remains extremely slow, while the entry of supplies into and across Gaza is hampered by restrictions and delays.\u00a0 \u201cTo date, WHO has verified 654 attacks on healthcare facilities in Gaza,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
In north Gaza, only Al-Awda Hospital remains minimally functional following the recent attack on Kamal Adwan Hospital, he noted.\u00a0However, recent reports indicate that this facility, too, has been ordered to evacuate.\u00a0 With this, he said, \u201cthe last health line in north Gaza is at a risk of being severed\u201d.\u00a0 Yet, \u201cthe health system of Gaza has not collapsed\u201d, he said, pointing to the restoration of Al-Shifa Hospital and Nasser Medical Complex.\u00a0 Urging that hospitals in north Gaza become functional again, he also called for expedited medical evacuations, sustained access to hospitals, increased flow of aid and an urgent ceasefire.<\/p>\n
Tanya Haj Hassan, Medical Practitioner at Medical Aid for Palestinians, then shared the perspectives of healthcare workers in Gaza \u201cwho have been sending SOS messages to this Council for over a year\u201d.\u00a0 \u201cThey tell us that they are targets because they\u2019re healthcare workers \u2014 that wearing scrubs and white coats is like wearing a target on their backs,\u201d she added.\u00a0 \u201cI never thought that international law or human-rights institutions would allow 2\u00a0million people to be locked in a cage and systematically massacred,\u201d she stressed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI speak to you today in disbelief that all of our repeated, firsthand and utterly damning testimonies have still not moved the world to meaningful action,\u201d she continued.\u00a0 Some 96\u00a0per\u00a0cent of Gaza\u2019s children believe their death is imminent, while many wish for their own death.\u00a0 Just in the past week, seven infants have died from hypothermia, \u201cmeaning they literally froze to their death\u201d, she said, adding:\u00a0 \u201cI shudder to even estimate the number of children who\u2019ve lost their parents and have been orphaned for life.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Permanent Observer for the State of Palestine urged everyone to decide whether they stand by hope and humanity, as embodied by the white coat worn by doctors around the world, or stand with destruction and death.\u00a0He recalled Dr.\u00a0Hussam Abu Safiya, who had refused to leave the Kamal Adwan hospital and his patients a few weeks before the ultimate attack on the facility, as saying: \u00a0\u201cso the army punished me by killing my son. \u00a0I saw him die at the entrance gate.\u201d\u00a0 The detained doctor\u2019s plight is only one of an infinite number of stories of unimaginable loss and trauma, courage and resilience from Gaza, the speaker for Palestine added, calling for his immediate release.\u00a0Palestinian doctors and medical personnel took their mission to heart at the peril of their lives.\u00a0 \u201cThey did not abandon the victims; do not abandon them,\u201d he said, pleading:\u00a0 \u201cEnd the genocide\u201d.<\/p>\n
The representative of Israel underscored that hospitals are meant to be sanctuaries of care and compassion.\u00a0 Yet, Hamas has transformed them into tools for terror, exploiting their sanctity to shield its murderous aims and wage war against civilians.\u00a0\u201cThis is a deliberate and systematic strategy, a cornerstone of Hamas\u2019 operational doctrine, their modus operandi,\u201d he stated.\u00a0 Kamal Adwan Hospital has become the latest site exploited by Hamas, which used it to protect its terrorists, store its weapons and launch its attacks.\u00a0 \u201cThis week\u2019s precise operation by IDF [Israel Defense Forces] revealed the extent of Hamas\u2019 abuse of the facility\u201d \u2014 over 240 terrorists were apprehended, including 15 who participated in the 7\u00a0October massacres, he said, adding that\u00a0\u2014\u00a0prior to its operations \u2014 Israel facilitated the evacuation of 350 patients and medical staff.<\/p>\n
Many speakers condemned Israel\u2019s ongoing attacks against hospitals and healthcare facilities in Gaza, while others pointed to Hamas\u2019 exploitation of the civilian infrastructure.<\/p>\n
The United Kingdom\u2019s delegate urged Israel to clarify the whereabouts of medical staff detained from hospitals in north Gaza.\u00a0 While \u201cHamas clearly put Palestinian civilians and medical staff at risk\u201d by embedding in civilian infrastructure, she stressed that the obligation to protect hospitals and healthcare workers is \u201cunconditional\u201d.<\/p>\n
The representative of the United States said Hamas has repeatedly misused civilian infrastructure like schools and hospitals to store weapons, house fighters and coordinate attacks against Israel, putting civilians in harm\u2019s way.\u00a0 She added: \u00a0\u201cIsrael\u2019s fight is with Hamas and not with Palestinian civilians.\u201d\u00a0 However, even as it battles Hamas, Israel has a moral imperative to prevent civilian casualties, she stressed.<\/p>\n
Egypt\u2019s delegate, speaking on behalf of the Arab Group, underscored that there is no evidence supporting Israel\u2019s claims that hospitals in Gaza are being used for other purposes.\u00a0 He called on the Council to compel that country \u2014 through all political and legal means \u2014 to implement its resolutions as well as the provisional measures of the International Court of Justice.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have every reason to believe that Israeli troops, who are bent on inflicting collective punishment on Gazans, have been systematically and deliberately destroying the health system of the Strip\u201d, said the representative of the Russian Federation.\u00a0 Israel relies on the unconditional support of the United States as it cleanses Gaza of Palestinians and creates conditions unfit for human survival.\u00a0 Washington, D.C., continues to provide \u201cpolitical cover\u201d for Israel and block any relevant initiatives from the Security Council.\u00a0 Citing the systematic destruction of the healthcare system as \u201cone of the key pillars\u201d of Israel\u2019s policy of ethnic cleansing, Algeria\u2019s representative said that the assault on Kamal Adwan Hospital \u2014 \u201cterrorizing patients and medical staff\u201d \u2014 was not driven by military necessity but rather a deliberate effort to deprive northern Gaza of essential health service.<\/p>\n
The deliberate targeting of hospitals, medical personnel, patients and the wounded defies every principle of humanitarian law, observed Pakistan\u2019s delegate, adding that the scale of Israel\u2019s genocidal campaign is staggering.\u00a0 \u201cIts intent [is] unmistakable,\u201d he said.\u00a0 This is not a war.\u00a0 It is a campaign of dispossession, ethnic cleansing and annihilation, he said, stating: \u00a0\u201cSilence is complicity.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the same vein, the representative of Somalia stated that deliberate attacks against healthcare facilities and personnel \u201care a form of ethnic cleansing and collective punishment against the civilian population in Gaza\u201d. \u00a0Guyana\u2019s delegate also stressed that \u201cthe ongoing attacks on the healthcare infrastructure in Gaza, including medical personnel, is part of a systematic plan against the Palestinian people\u201d.<\/p>\n
The representatives of France, Denmark, Sierra Leone and Slovenia voiced concern over the situation of healthcare personnel in Gaza, with the latter highlighting Israel’s legal responsibility as the occupying Power to ensure the provision of medical services in the Strip.\u00a0Stressing the crucial role of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA), Greece\u2019s delegate added that crossings should be open for aid delivery, and sanctuaries should be protected and not turned into death traps for those who were forced to flee.<\/p>\n
China\u2019s representative called on Israel to \u201cstop turning hospitals into battlefields\u201d.\u00a0 He went on to say that differences in negotiations should be bridged by political will, not innocent lives.\u00a0 Winning the war does not necessarily mean owning peace, and resorting only to military strength does not guarantee lasting security, he stressed.<\/p>\n
It is troubling that Israel has repeatedly attacked Kamal Adwan Hospital, the representative of the Republic of Korea said, adding: \u00a0\u201cOn 27\u00a0December, the burning of the facility began when patients were still inside.\u201d\u00a0 Despite Israel’s argument that its Defense Forces made extensive efforts to enable treatment for patients, \u201cthe entire world has witnessed the contrary, through harrowing media reports and viral images,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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