On January 3, 2025, during a meeting of the U.N. Security Council, Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, World Health Organization (WHO) representative for the West Bank and Gaza, warned about Gaza’s health system being on the brink of collapse. Dr Rik Peeperkorn warned that “time and again, hospitals have become battlegrounds, rendering them out of service and depriving those in need of lifesaving care. The health sector is being systematically dismantled and pushed to the breaking point, its resilience tested amid dire shortages of medical supplies, equipment, and specialized staff. Only 16 out of 36 hospitals in Gaza remain partially functional, with a total bed capacity of just 1,822—far below what is needed to address the overwhelming health crisis.”
During the meeting, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, called the destruction of hospitals a “human rights catastrophe [that] continues to unfold in Gaza before the eyes of the world.” The U.N. High Commissioner noted that the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) documented at least 136 strikes on at least 27 hospitals and 12 other medical facilities in Gaza. The destruction brought by recent attacks on Kamal Adwan Hospital – the last functioning hospital in North Gaza “reflected the patterns of attacks documented in a recent report by his Office.” All these attacks “caused significant death and injury among doctors, nurses, medical staff and other civilians, and damaged or destroyed many of the buildings targeted.” More than 1,050 medical professionals have been killed in Gaza so far.
The U.N. High Commissioner referred to the OHCHR report, published on December 31, 2024, which found that the increasingly limited healthcare system prevented many of those who had sustained trauma injuries from receiving timely and possibly life-saving treatment. The report covered the period between October 7, 2023, and June 30, 2024, and did not comment on the recent attacks on Kamal Adwan Hospital end of December 2024, or the closure of the Indonesian Hospital, (due to a lack of water, electricity, and sanitation). The report indicated that “Many injured reportedly died while waiting to be hospitalized or treated. Even those who managed to receive critical treatment, including surgery, received it without proper bedding and facilities, and were often discharged prematurely due to a lack of space.” Furthermore, the report commented that attacks on hospitals in Gaza have also had serious implications for patients with initially nonfatal conditions, potentially rendering them fatal. It found that “Women, especially pregnant women, are suffering gravely. Many women are giving birth with no or minimal pre- and postnatal care, increasing the risk of preventable maternal and child mortality. (…) OHCHR has received reports that a number of newborns died because their mothers were unable to attend postnatal check-ups or reach medical facilities to give birth.” Similarly, patients with chronic diseases requiring recurring treatment, such as kidney failure, hypertension, diabetes, and heart diseases, but also cancer patients have lost access to critical treatment.
During the U.N. Security Council meeting, the U.N. High Commissioner emphasized that “the protection of hospitals during warfare is paramount and must be respected by all sides, at all times” and called for independent, thorough and transparent investigations into all attacks on hospitals, healthcare infrastructure and medical personnel.
Responding to the reports, Brett Jonathan Miller, Israel’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, commented that with the recent operation conducted by the Israel Defense Forces, “Over 240 terrorists were apprehended, including 15 who participated in October 7th massacre.” He further added that “Among those apprehended was a hospital director himself, who [was] suspected of being a Hamas operative, as hundreds of Hamas and Islamic defectors were hiding inside the Kamal Adwan hospital under his management. He is currently being investigated by Israeli security forces.”
Attacks on hospitals in Gaza have pushed the healthcare system to the brink of total collapse. This has a catastrophic effect on Palestinians’ access to health and medical care. All attacks against healthcare must be investigated as a matter of urgency. However, such investigations will not achieve much if Palestinians are left without any medical attention. Restoring access to healthcare must be a priority.
