The Brutal Massacres Committed by the Israeli Occupation Against Patients and Medical Staff at Kamal Adwan Hospital

Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza, is facing an increasingly deteriorating situation, resembling the tragic fate of the Shifa Medical Complex during the first genocide war. However, Kamal Adwan Hospital’s situation appears even bleaker, as it is subjected to direct attacks amid the ongoing ethnic cleansing and forced displacement in northern Gaza. The Israeli occupation has intensified its strategy to create a military buffer zone through heavy bombing, further exacerbating the suffering of civilians in the area.

The Gaza Ministry of Health has announced that the Israeli occupation forces have ordered the immediate evacuation of Kamal Adwan Hospital. Patients and medical staff were directed to Indonesia Hospital. Exclusive footage aired by Al Jazeera showed women and children crowding the hospital corridors after all departments and rooms were hit by artillery shells and gunfire from surrounding Israeli military vehicles.

These images confirm that Israeli forces directly targeted the hospital, trapping many medical staff and injured patients, including women and children, inside. Other footage showed patients and medical staff seeking refuge in the hospital’s internal corridors due to the continuous bombardment.

Israeli forces also cut off electricity to the hospital by destroying its generators, leading to a power outage. Communication lines with journalists in the Beit Lahiya area were severed. These actions reflect a disturbing pattern followed by the Israeli army in Gaza, especially during an attack on the Shifa Medical Complex in March 2024, where Israeli forces stormed Gaza’s largest medical complex, ordered the evacuation of patients and medical staff, and severed communication lines.

The situation in northern Gaza, particularly around Kamal Adwan Hospital, has become more catastrophic. The Israeli systematic ethnic cleansing campaign has led to the destruction of homes and the displacement of civilians, all in an attempt to establish a buffer zone between Gaza and Israeli settlements.

On the Verge of Collapse
Dr. Hussam Abu Safiah, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, reported that Israeli forces directly bombed the hospital without warning. The military forces demanded the hospital’s evacuation within hours. Dr. Abu Safiah held the international community responsible for the crimes committed by the Israeli occupation, noting that the third floor of the hospital was hit by artillery shells, though no casualties were recorded.

The hospital has been unable to provide basic services such as electricity, water, and oxygen due to severe shortages in supplies, despite previous promises. Dr. Abu Safiah also mentioned that the hospital received 70 units of blood from the World Health Organization, while it requires 200 units. Additionally, Israeli forces prevented medical supplies from entering the hospital, hindering the medical staff’s ability to provide necessary care. The shortage of medical equipment, medicines, painkillers, and food poses a severe threat to the lives of the injured and medical staff.

Dr. Abu Safiah called on the international community to intervene urgently and provide essential food supplies to the injured and medical staff working tirelessly under extremely dangerous conditions.

Systematic Attacks
Since the beginning of the Israeli ground invasion in northern Gaza on October 5, 2024, Kamal Adwan Hospital has been repeatedly bombed. On November 24, there were attempts to assassinate Dr. Abu Safiah. Tragically, his son Ibrahim was killed by Israeli sniper fire after Dr. Abu Safiah refused to evacuate the hospital.

On October 28, Israeli forces besieged Kamal Adwan Hospital for five days and arrested 40 doctors and nurses, leaving Dr. Abu Safiah and one pediatrician as the only medical staff at the hospital. The Ministry of Health called for international surgical teams to support the treatment of the wounded and ill. On October 25, Israeli artillery targeted the hospital’s oxygen station, resulting in the death of two children in the intensive care unit. Less than an hour later, Israeli forces stormed the hospital grounds, ordered everyone—patients, relatives, and displaced persons—to leave, and attacked many of them, before completely cutting off communication with the hospital.

On December 19, Israeli forces destroyed surrounding houses with remote-controlled explosives. The explosions caused panic among patients and medical staff, shattering doors and windows and destroying most of the water tanks on the hospital’s roof. A drone attack also injured three medical staff members.
Between December 1 and 12, Israeli forces targeted Kamal Adwan Hospital more than 20 times, injuring medical staff, patients, and their relatives, according to a report by the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor. These systematic attacks on medical facilities and healthcare workers have deepened the humanitarian crisis in northern Gaza, where providing healthcare to tens of thousands of trapped civilians has become exceedingly difficult.

The Ongoing War
On December 17, the United Nations reported that Israel had rejected three humanitarian missions intended to deliver food and water to northern Gaza, highlighting the extreme difficulty in reaching the area. Despite the ongoing hostilities and explosions around Kamal Adwan Hospital, a World Health Organization mission managed to reach the hospital on December 17 after several failed attempts. The mission successfully delivered 5,000 liters of fuel, food, and medicine, and evacuated three patients along with six of their companions to Shifa Hospital.

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, stated that the continued attacks have damaged the hospital’s oxygen supplies and generators, further complicating an already overburdened healthcare system. The previous World Health Organization mission to the hospital on November 30 was forced to leave swiftly after delivering supplies due to escalating violence.

Where Is International Law?
Kamal Adwan Hospital is one of the last remaining medical facilities in northern Gaza, and it is on the brink of collapse due to ongoing Israeli military attacks. According to the World Health Organization, the hospital is barely able to provide “minimal” medical services.

International law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention and its Additional Protocols of 1977, grants special protection to civilian sites, including hospitals, homes, schools, universities, and places of worship. Under these laws, hospitals are protected from attacks, and any damage inflicted on these sites is considered a violation of international law. The Fourth Geneva Convention also prohibits attacks on civilian hospitals, and targeting medical facilities and personnel is classified as a war crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

Despite these laws, the Israeli occupation continues to target medical facilities in Gaza, with full support from the United States. The ongoing genocide war, which began on October 7, 2023, has resulted in over 152,000 casualties, the majority of whom are women and children, and 10,000 people remain missing under rubble and in the streets. Israeli forces have also prevented rescue teams from reaching these victims, leaving Gaza in a state of widespread destruction and suffering.

The international community must intervene urgently to halt these crimes, provide humanitarian aid, and hold Israel accountable for its violations of international law.