UN and Israeli government announcements

UN Experts Demand Release of Kamal Adwan Hospital Director After Israel's Raid

Jan 2, 2025, 03:39 PM

United Nations experts have condemned Israel's raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, describing it as a 'blatant assault' on health rights in the besieged Palestinian territory. The raid, which occurred last Friday, targeted the last functioning major hospital in the area. The UN experts, Francesca Albanese and Tlaleng Mofokeng, expressed horror at the attack and demanded the immediate release of the hospital's director, Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya, who was detained by Israeli forces. They highlighted that over 1,057 Palestinian health and medical professionals have been killed since the onset of the conflict on October 7, 2023. The experts also raised concerns about alleged extrajudicial executions near the hospital, including a reported incident involving a Palestinian man holding a white flag. The Israeli military has claimed that the hospital was used by Hamas as a command center and that they killed 20 suspected militants and detained 240 individuals during the raid, claims denied by Hamas. Amidst this, the World Health Organization has reported the slow pace of medical evacuations from Gaza, with only 5,383 patients evacuated since October 2023, and over 12,000 still in need of urgent medical evacuation.