The UN Security Council met yesterday in emergency session to discuss Israel’s deliberate destruction of hospitals in Gaza. According to a UN News report, the Council heard calls for urgent international action to protect civilians and ensure accountability, including independent investigations into these incidents and the alleged misuse of medical facilities by Hamas.
“A human-rights catastrophe continues to unfold in Gaza before the eyes of the world,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk told the Council. Citing a Dec. 31, 2024 report by his Office, he pointed to a pattern of attacks on hospitals between October 7, 2023 and June 30, 2024 that begin with Israeli airstrikes and are followed by ground raids and the detention of patients and staff—"leaving the hospital essentially non-functional.”
“Hospitals have become battlegrounds in Gaza,” added Rik Peeperkorn, World Health Organization (WHO) Representative for the West Bank and Gaza, noting that the Strip’s health sector is being “systematically dismantled and pushed to the breaking point.” Only 16 of 36 hospitals in Gaza remain partially functional, and most hospitals lack the capacity to treat chronic diseases and complex injuries. Further, the pace of medical evacuations remains extremely slow, while the entry of supplies into and across Gaza is hampered by restrictions and delays. “To date, WHO has verified 654 attacks on healthcare facilities in Gaza,” he added.
Tanya Haj Hassan, Medical Practitioner at Medical Aid for Palestinians, then shared the perspectives of healthcare workers in Gaza “who have been sending SOS messages to this Council for over a year.”
