Human Rights Watch, a New York-based international non-governmental organisation, stated on Tuesday that Israel’s attacks on medical facilities in the Gaza Strip, which have resulted in multiple deaths and widespread destruction, should be investigated as war crimes.
“The Israeli military’s repeated, apparently unlawful attacks on medical facilities, personnel, and transport are further destroying Gaza’s healthcare system and should be investigated as war crimes,” it stated in a statement made available to the public.
Jerrymusa.com reports that no evidence has been presented that would warrant stripping hospitals and ambulances of their protected status under international humanitarian law, the report said, despite Israel’s assertions of “Hamas’ cynical use of hospitals.”
At least 521 individuals had been killed by Israeli attacks on medical institutions in Gaza as of November 12, according to data from the World Health Organisation (WHO), which was quoted by Human Rights Watch.
It emphasised that “these attacks, alongside Israel’s decisions to cut off electricity and water and block humanitarian aid to Gaza, have severely impeded health care access,” and that as of November 10, UN data showed that roughly two-thirds of primary aid facilities and half of hospitals were not functioning in Gaza.
Surgery was performed without anaesthesia, and vinegar was used as an antiseptic. Doctors were quoted as claiming hospitals were running out of medicine and basic equipment.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) official Kayum Ahmed was reported as saying, “The strikes on hospitals have killed hundreds of people and put many patients at grave risk because they are unable to receive proper medical care.”
Human Rights Watch claims that Israel’s order for hospitals to evacuate to northern Gaza was useless “because it did not take into account the specific requirements for hospitals, including providing for the safety of patients and medical personnel.”
As the document emphasised, “the real purpose of this order was not to protect civilians but to terrify them into leaving.”
The group demanded that Israel immediately remove its siege of the Gaza Strip, calling it “the war crime of collective punishment,” as well as its attacks on medical and other civilian infrastructure facilities.
“It also called on Palestinian groups not to use people as human shields and for Israel’s allies, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Germany, to suspend military support for Israel until it ceases committing “widespread, egregious abuses.”