The unlawful attacks by Israeli forces on medical facilities are contributing to the further destruction of the health system in Gaza.
Gaza – Israeli attacks on the last remaining hospital in central Gaza forced hundreds of civilians to flee over the weekend and forced most medical workers to evacuate, leaving the wounded without good treatment options as fighting mounts in the region.
Organizations such as Médecins Sans Frontières, the International Rescue Committee and the Medical Aid for Palestinians have withdrawn their staff from al-Aqsa Hospital in recent days after the surrounding areas in the Deir al-Balah region came under drone strikes and sniper fire, and residents were ordered to evacuate by Israeli forces.
The heavy shelling and the withdrawal of major international medical organizations caused panic among the displaced civilians who had found refuge in the facility, prompting many of them to flee again in search of relative safety, eyewitnesses reported.
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"Due to the extreme fear, a large number of displaced people who were in the courtyards of the hospital broke down their tents last night and this morning and fled towards Rafah," Ashraf Abu Amra, a freelance journalist stationed at the hospital, said in a voice message on Monday. By the evening, 35 bodies had arrived at the hospital, he said, "because it is the only one that covers the entire central region."
Pressure on the Israeli government
The IDF began a gradual withdrawal of troops in the northern Gaza Strip late last month, saying it had largely halted Hamas' operations in that part of the enclave. However, in the central and southern Gaza Strip, where hundreds of thousands of civilians have found refuge, the attacks continue. Israel is under growing international pressure to limit its military action and facilitate the delivery of more aid to the besieged enclave.
At the beginning of the Italian presidency of the Group of Seven richest nations, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told his British and French counterparts that it was "an absolute necessity to immediately curb the number of Palestinian civilian casualties," according to a summary of the conversation. "A second goal is to put pressure on the Israeli government to end the military operations," he said, and to push for the "difficult but inevitable" two-state solution.
Before the War in Israel: The History of the Israel-Palestine Conflict in Pictures
Before the War in Israel: The History of the Israel-Palestine Conflict in Pictures
Secretary of State Blinken makes Middle East trip to prevent a major war
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is in the region to prevent a major war, said Monday that the United States and Arab leaders had agreed to coordinate plans for administering the Gaza Strip after the end of Israeli military action. "We agreed to work together and coordinate our efforts to stabilize and recover the Gaza Strip, to find a political path for the Palestinians, and to work toward long-term peace, security and stability in the region," Blinken said after meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Blinken arrived in the ancient Saudi city of Al Ula on Monday, having previously met with leaders in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan, Greece and Turkey. During his visits, Blinken has sought to arouse the interest of world leaders in a plan for the administration and reconstruction of the Gaza Strip – something that Arab leaders are reluctant to discuss given the enormous number of civilian casualties. "No one I've spoken to thinks this is going to be easy," he said. "Everyone is aware of the hurdles, and no one believes that everything will happen overnight."
Financial Support for a Solution in the Gaza Strip
Washington views financial support from Saudi Arabia and other energy-rich Gulf states as crucial to a long-term solution in the Gaza Strip. The Arab countries, on the other hand, have made it clear that they have no interest in bearing the costs of reconstruction without taking a firm path to a sovereign Palestinian state.
Blinken then boarded a plane to Israel and landed in Tel Aviv on Monday evening, where he planned to present the ideas he had heard from Arab countries, including the need to establish a Palestinian state – something Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ruled out. He also said he would urge Israel to do more to protect civilians and ensure that humanitarian aid gets into the hands of those who need it.
Israeli Forces Target Hospitals
According to Israel's Health Ministry, more than 23,000 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip, and Israeli forces have repeatedly attacked hospitals in the enclave because Hamas militants allegedly use it as a weapons depot, operations center and hostage hideout.
According to the World Health Organization, as of January 3, before fleeing al-Aqsa Hospital, only 13 of the 36 hospitals in the Gaza Strip were partially functional – nine in the south and four in the north. In a statement on Sunday, the head of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that only five doctors remained at al-Aqsa Hospital to treat the wounded, without food, with little medical care and without the certainty that they would be protected from attack.
Pictures show how the war in Israel is changing the country
Pictures show how the war in Israel is changing the country
The WHO has received disturbing reports of increasing hostilities and ongoing evacuation orders near the vital Al-Aqsa Hospital," he wrote on X, earlier on Twitter. A WHO team visited the hospital on Sunday and saw "harrowing scenes as people of all ages were treated on blood-stained floors and in chaotic corridors."
Gaza Strip : Medical Personnel Forced to Flee
Bob Kitchen, vice president for emergencies and humanitarian operations at the International Rescue Committee, told the Washington Post that the IRC and Medical Assistance to Palestinians had decided to withdraw their joint emergency medical team from al-Aqsa Hospital after fighting in the area "intensified" and bullets pierced the doctor's office and intensive care unit last week. "We were able to get through the end of the day, but it was obvious . . . that the Israelis had taken the hospital to the red zone and were moving further south," he said.
The IDF press office said it was investigating reports that fighting and bombardment in the area had forced civilians and medical personnel to flee al-Aqsa Hospital. Also on Monday, the Israeli military said it had "eliminated" Hassan Hakashah, a Hamas operative in Beit Jinn in southern Syria. In a statement, the IDF called Hakashah a "central figure responsible for the rockets fired by Hamas from Syrian territory into Israel in recent weeks."
Hezbollah Commander Dead – 135 Hezbollah Members Killed So Far
No further details were given about the operation, including whether he was killed in an attack. It is rare for Israel to publicly acknowledge attacks or targeted killings in other countries. On Monday, however, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Israel was responsible for the killing of a Hezbollah commander in southern Lebanon.
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Killed in an attack on his car in southern Lebanon: Hezbollah commander Wissam al-Tauil.
© Hezbollah Military Media/AP/dpa
Earlier, Hezbollah, the most powerful militant group in Lebanon, announced that one of its commanders - Wissam Hassan Tawil - had been killed. "We have prepared ourselves to be able to fight on all fronts," Katz said in an interview with Israel's Channel 14. "As far as the attack in southern Lebanon is concerned, we have taken responsibility for the elimination of the acting commander of the Radwan forces," he said, referring to Hezbollah's elite unit, the Special Forces. According to a statement by the Post, 7 Hezbollah members have been killed so far since October 135. Israeli bombardments have also killed at least 19 Hezbollah members in neighboring Syria, the militant group told The Post.
In two speeches last week, Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah warned Israel that a war against Lebanon would be "very, very, very expensive." Dadouch reported from Beirut, Harb from London and Hudson from Al Ula, Saudi Arabia. Mohamed El Chamaa in Beirut, Steve Hendrix in Jerusalem, and Hazem Balousha in Amman, Jordan, contributed to this report.
About the authors
Claire Parker is the head of the Washington Post's Cairo bureau and leads coverage of North Africa and Yemen.
Sarah Dadouch is the Washington Post's Middle East correspondent in Beirut. Previously, she worked as a Reuters correspondent in Beirut, Riyadh and Istanbul.
John Hudson is a reporter at The Washington Post, covering the State Department and national security. He was part of the team that made it to the final round of the Pulitzer Prize for Public Relations for their coverage of the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. He has reported from dozens of countries, including Ukraine, China, Afghanistan, India, and Belarus.
We are currently testing machine translations. This article has been automatically translated from English into German.
This article was first published in English by the "Washingtonpost.com" on January 09, 2024 - in the course of a cooperation, it is now also available in translation to the readers of IPPEN. MEDIA portals.