Assaults on medical facilities could amount to war crimes in certain circumstances, human rights office report says
Israel’s pattern of sustained attacks on Gaza’s hospitals and medical workers has brought the coastal strip’s healthcare system to the brink of “total collapse”, according to a report by the UN’s human rights office.
While the Israeli military has repeatedly sought to justify its attacks on Gaza’s hospitals, accusing armed groups including Hamas of using medical facilities as command posts, the UN human rights office said the evidence provided by Israel to back up its assertions had been “vague”. Covering the period from 12 October 2023 to 30 June 2024, the rights office said: “The situation has deteriorated to a catastrophic level since October 2023, as this already damaged health system has been targeted, resulting in the killing of hundreds of health and medical professionals.
It concluded: “The destruction of the healthcare system in Gaza, and the extent of killing of patients, staff and other civilians in these attacks, is a direct consequence of the disregard of international humanitarian and human rights law.” “In most cases it has been difficult to determine attribution, particularly where there were reports of armed clashes in the vicinity.”
The report said deliberately directing attacks against hospitals and places where the sick and wounded are would, provided they are not military objectives, be war crimes.“In each operation on a hospital documented by OHCHR, after multiple strikes on structures in the vicinity, the Israeli military besieged the premises.
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