The World Health Organization said it was “appalled” by the Israeli attack that closed and partially destroyed the last major hospital still functioning in northern Gaza.
Israel's “systematic dismantling of the health system” and siege of the northern coastal zone over the past 80 days “endangers the lives of the region's 75,000 remaining Palestinians.” WHO said.
The newspaper first reported that some departments at Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lakhia were “burned and seriously damaged during the attack, including the laboratory, surgical department, engineering and maintenance department, operating room, and medical warehouse.” cited the report.
Local sources in Beit Lahia say most of the doctors and nurses detained in Friday's raid have been released, but the hospital director, Hassam Abu Safiyah, remains missing.
The Israel Defense Forces did not respond to questions about the attack, but the BBC quoted the military as claiming that Hamas was using the hospital as a “terrorist base” and that patients were transferred for their own safety.
The WHO statement said staff and some patients in stable condition were transferred to nearby unnamed locations, while others were forcibly transferred to hospitals in Indonesia. The hospital was so named because its construction was funded by Indonesia. It had been badly damaged by previous bombings and was no longer functional.
The United Nations agency said it would send an emergency mission to an Indonesian hospital on Sunday to “safely transfer the patient to southern Gaza for continued treatment.”
“Kamal Adwan is currently unmanned,” the statement said. “On Friday night, the remaining 15 critically ill patients, 50 caregivers and 20 health workers were transferred to Indonesian hospitals, which lack the necessary equipment and supplies to provide proper care. Transferring and treating critically ill patients under these conditions poses a significant risk to survival.
“WHO is deeply concerned for their well-being and for the well-being of hospital director Kamal Adwan, who was reportedly detained during the raid. WHO has been unable to contact him since the raid began.”
Residents of Beit Lahia said the Indonesian hospital had no water or electricity supply.
“Additionally, some people were reportedly stripped naked and forced to walk towards southern Gaza,” the WHO said. Some of the detained medical workers told reporters that they were beaten and stripped naked by their Israeli captors. “We appeal to the relevant authorities to find a solution for the patients and injured who are currently in Indonesian hospitals,” the Gaza Ministry of Health said.
He added that some patients and medical workers at Kamal Adwan Hospital were killed in a fire started by the IDF, and that Abu Safieh was “subjected to violence by occupation forces before his arrest.”
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Hamas official Osama Hamdan denied there were any Hamas fighters at Kamal Adwan Hospital and claimed that targeting the medical facility was part of Israel's “general's plan.” He was referring to a proposal put forward in early 2024 by a group of former Israeli Defense Force officials to remove Palestinian civilians from northern Gaza and turn the area into a free-fire zone to fight some Hamas resistance groups. Ta. Benjamin Netanyahu's government has officially rejected the plan, but some Israeli and Palestinian military analysts believe that the ultimate goal (pursued by the coalition's far right) is to colonize the region with Israeli settlements. I believe that it is probably being carried out on the ground.
On Saturday, the IDF distributed messages ordering residents in other areas of northern Gaza to leave.
“The Israel Defense Forces are strongly active in the area,” the order states. “You must immediately evacuate the area and move south along the Salah al-Din road. Traveling via other roads will put you at risk.”
in Interview with jerusalem post office In a statement released on Saturday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar denied that the government intended to build settlements in the Gaza Strip, saying: “The goals set by the Cabinet do not include such plans.” he claimed. However, Saar said he envisions a long-term Israeli military presence in the area.
“My working assumption is that we are the only ones who can ensure the security of our country for the foreseeable future,” he said, ruling out the possibility of foreign peacekeeping forces. “I don't think there is an effective organization that can provide security in Gaza, so I think Israel needs to remain the dominant power from the Mediterranean to the west side of the Jordan River,” Saar said.
