Israeli attacks on hospital knock last intensive care unit in northern Gaza out of service
Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan hospital, inspects damage inside the hospital in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza, 18 December 2024
Mera Aladam reports in Middle East Eye on 18 December 2024:
The Israeli army has launched a new set of attacks on the Kamal Adwan hospital, sparking a fire that rendered the last functioning intensive care unit (ICU) in northern Gaza out of service.
Overnight on Tuesday, the hospital endured Israeli shelling, as well as the use of exploding robots near its grounds, Al Jazeera reporter Moath al-Kahlout reported. Local media reported that Kahlout has since been detained by the Israeli army in Jabalia.
Kamal Adwan has been the focus of military efforts by Israel since its war on Gaza began in October 2023. The hospital is an obstacle to Israel’s plan to ethnically cleanse the northern half of the besieged strip, as it is where around 65,000 to 75,000 people have sought refuge.
At least 2,500 Palestinians have been killed and 10,000 others wounded in Israel’s most recent offensive in northern Gaza, while hundreds more have been abducted and thousands forcibly expelled.
Eid Sabbah, the director of nursing at Kamal Adwan Hospital, told Al Jazeera that it was a night “full of horror” at the medical facility. Israeli bulldozers began surrounding the area around the hospital, destroying streets and infrastructure. Quadcopter drones also targeted the medical compound and its vicinity.
Eight Palestinians were killed on the Tuesday evening attack on the Battah family home west of Kamal Adwan Hospital, according to civil defence forces.
“Many have been wounded and many are still under the rubble,” Sabbah said, adding that the attacks filled the ICU with smoke. As a result of the shortage in resources and necessities, 74 injured patients were treated “in a very primitive way”. On Wednesday morning, continued Israeli shelling sparked a fire in the hospital’s ICU.