Devastating Bombardment Strikes Kamal Adwan Hospital in Northern Gaza
The ongoing Israeli bombardment has inflicted severe damage on the already beleaguered Kamal Adwan Hospital, located in the northern Gaza Strip. Reports from local officials indicate that the attack has resulted in injuries to both medical staff and patients within the facility. This escalation comes just a week after Israeli forces retreated from the hospital complex, during which time they detained numerous individuals, including healthcare workers.
In a stark statement titled “a distress call that may be the last,” the Gazan health ministry declared, “The Israelis continue to bomb and destroy Kamal Adwan Hospital,” which is situated in Jabaliya, a densely populated area just north of Gaza City. The bombardment has impacted all sections of the hospital, leading to “many” injuries among medical personnel and patients. The situation has become so dire that medical staff are reportedly unable to move between departments to assist their injured colleagues.
Dr. Hussam Abu Safiyeh, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, recounted the harrowing experience in an interview with Al Jazeera, stating that the hospital endured relentless shelling for a period of at least three hours on Monday. “I can’t leave the floor I am in,” he lamented. “I was informed that several members of our medical teams have been injured on other floors, but no one can reach them.” His comments highlight the critical situation faced by medical staff as they attempt to care for the wounded under constant threat.
Both Dr. Safiyeh and the health ministry have asserted that the hospital was targeted directly, although it remains unclear what type of munitions were deployed in the attack. In response to the incident, the Israeli military stated that it is investigating the reports emerging from the hospital but could not provide immediate comments. Their statement on Monday noted that they had facilitated the evacuation of patients and staff from both Kamal Adwan and Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat to other medical facilities in northern Gaza the previous day. However, the reasons for the evacuation were not specified.
Historically, Israeli officials have claimed that hospitals have sustained damage due to strikes on nearby targets or as a consequence of attacks directed at Hamas fighters allegedly operating from within hospital grounds or beneath them. Hospital administrators have consistently denied these allegations. Furthermore, residents of Gaza, along with various human rights organizations, have accused Israel of deliberately targeting and destroying critical infrastructure, including healthcare facilities—an assertion that Israeli authorities have denied.
