Attacks on healthcare workers in Gaza reach alarming levels
- The hospital Shifa, crucial for Gaza's healthcare, has suffered extensive damage due to ongoing conflict.
- Healthcare staff in conflict zones have faced unprecedented levels of violence and attacks.
- International advocacy is growing to label these attacks as 'healthocide' and hold violators accountable.
In Gaza, the civil conflict has led to a vast surge in attacks on healthcare facilities since 2023, raising urgent human rights concerns. The targeting of medical services, described as 'healthocide' by academics, violates international humanitarian law which guarantees protection for medical facilities. Reports indicate that individual medical staff have been particularly affected, with at least 986 healthcare workers killed in the ongoing violence. The situation has deteriorated so dramatically that hospitals are no longer safe havens for patients or medical staff. Shifa Hospital, once the largest healthcare institution in Gaza, now resembles a battleground as it continues to operate under extreme conditions. Following 22 months of conflict, the facility has suffered extensive damage, and medical resources have dwindled. For instance, essential equipment such as CT scan machines has been destroyed, severely limiting the hospital's capability to perform critical diagnostics and surgeries. Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, representative of the World Health Organization for the West Bank and Gaza, has highlighted the grim reality that healthcare facilities are heavily compromised and that staff are under severe risk. Amidst the continual warfare, many doctors have reported an inability to provide adequate care, and patients suffer from malnutrition and delayed treatments. The chaos is compounded by the fact that hospitals have not only lost their function as medical facilities but are now under attack. Internationally, there has been a call to hold those accountable for the violation of healthcare rights, as seen in the statements by the British Medical Association's ethics committee chair, Dr. Andrew Green. He emphasizes the necessity for international coalitions, including NGOs and the United Nations, to address and condemn these breaches of medical neutrality and humanitarian law. While Hamas has denied accusations of using hospitals for military purposes, the presence of their security personnel inside hospital facilities has drawn concern, further complicating the healthcare crisis in conflict-affected regions.