Israeli attacks on hospitals in the Gaza Strip could constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity, the UN’s human rights office said in a report on Tuesday.
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) said Israeli strikes have brought the territory’s “healthcare system to the brink of complete collapse, with catastrophic effect on Palestinians’ access to health and medical care.”
High Commissioner Volker Türk called for an independent and thorough investigation into the attacks on Gaza’s hospitals.
“As if the relentless bombing and the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza were not enough, the one sanctuary where Palestinians should have felt safe in fact became a death trap,” he said.
“The protection of hospitals during warfare is paramount and must be respected by all sides, at all times,” Türk added.
The report covered the period between October 2023 – soon after the October 7 attacks on Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas which sparked the conflict in Gaza – and June 2024.
Over the period, at least 27 hospital and 12 other medical facilities were hit in 136 attacks, the UNHCR said, causing “significant casualties among doctors, nurses, medics and other civilians.”
The UN agency warned that “intentionally directing attacks against hospitals” would constitute a war crime, while systematic attacks could “amount to crimes against humanity.”
Israel has repeatedly justified operations against hospitals – including against the Kamal Adwan clinic last week – by claiming that Hamas has used the facilities for military purposes.
However, the report said that “insufficient information has so far been made available to substantiate these allegations, which have remained vague and broad, and in some cases appear contradicted by publicly available information.”
