International Concern Mounts as Israeli Soldiers Conduct Raid on Gaza Hospital
Israeli soldiers raided Kamal Adwan hospital in Gaza, leaving destruction in their wake. Conflicting accounts claim the hospital was being used as a Hamas command center, while others accuse Israel of a massacre. International concern grows.
In a series of events that has sparked international concern, Israeli soldiers have conducted a raid at the Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gaza over several days, leaving behind a trail of destruction. Conflicting accounts of the events have arisen, with the Gaza health ministry claiming that hundreds of internally displaced persons taking refuge in the hospital were forced to leave and wounded patients and medical staff were evacuated to the hospital grounds. The World Health Organization chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, voiced extreme worry about the situation at the hospital, citing the Gaza health ministry's reports.
The Israeli military, on the other hand, claims that the hospital was being used as a Hamas command and control center and that they detained around 80 militant fighters during the raid. Video evidence shows that soldiers found weapons hidden in medical apparatus and displayed several guns and grenades. However, Reuters has been unable to verify the accounts of the events. Additionally, Hamas has accused Israeli troops of carrying out a horrific massacre inside the hospital, stating that they destroyed with bulldozers the tents of the displaced people sheltering there, causing deaths.
Palestinian health minister Mai AlKaila has claimed that civilians were buried under earth moved by Israeli army bulldozers in the vicinity of the hospital. Israel did not immediately respond to the allegations. The UN humanitarian affairs agency reported that only 11 of Gaza's 36 hospitals are functional due to the ongoing conflict, and the Gaza health ministry states that at least 19,000 Gazans have been killed during the invasion launched by Israel in retaliation for a Hamas attack. The Israeli army has claimed that they apprehended approximately 80 terrorists and destroyed terror infrastructure in the area surrounding the hospital.
There are also accusations that the hospital workers confessed that weapons were hidden in incubators meant for premature babies. The stark disparity between the Israeli and Palestinian accounts of the raid on the Kamal Adwan hospital has sparked international concern with many questioning the use of a healthcare facility in a conflict zone. The situation continues to develop as more details emerge from this devastating event.