UN experts slam Israel's 'blatant assault' on health rights in Gaza

UN experts on Thursday denounced Israel's raid on an embattled hospital in northern Gaza, demanding an end to the "blatant assault" on health rights in the besieged Palestinian territory.

Reiterating charges that Israel is committing "genocide" in Gaza -- something the Israeli government strongly denies -- two independent United Nations rights experts said they were "horrified" by the raid last Friday on Kamal Adwan, northern Gaza's last functioning major hospital.

"For well over a year into the genocide, Israel's blatant assault on the right to health in Gaza and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territory is plumbing new depths of impunity," the experts said.

The joint statement was from Francesca Albanese, the independent UN special rapporteur on the rights situation in the Palestinian territories, and Tlaleng Mofokeng, special rapporteur on the right to health.

Israel's diplomatic mission in Geneva dismissed the statement as "far removed from the truth", saying it "completely ignores critical facts and the broader context of Hamas's exploitation of civilian infrastructure for military purposes".

The Israeli military has repeatedly accused Hamas of using hospitals as command centres, something Hamas denies.

The military "undertook every effort to protect civilians", the Israeli mission said, insisting its "actions highlight Israel's commitment to international law and the protection of civilian infrastructure, even under the most challenging circumstances".

- 'Gravely concerned' -

Israel's military said it had killed more than 20 suspected militants and detained more than 240, including the hospital's director, Hossam Abu Safiyeh, describing him as a suspected Hamas militant.

In their statement, Albanese and Mofokeng said they were "gravely concerned" at Safiyeh's detention and demanded his "immediate release".

"Yet another doctor to be harassed, kidnapped and arbitrarily detained by the occupation forces," they said.

"This is part of a pattern by Israel to continuously bombard, destroy and fully annihilate the realisation of the right to health in Gaza."

In a statement to AFP, Israel's military insisted: "It has been well documented that Hamas uses hospitals and medical centers for its terror activities by building military networks within and beneath hospitals, launching attacks and storing weapons within the confines of hospitals, and using hospital infrastructure and staff for terror activities."

It added: "We continue to call on the international community to unequivocally demand Hamas to immediately stop using hospitals throughout the Gaza Strip as a shield for its terror activities."

- Medics killed -

UN special rapporteurs are independent experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council but do not speak on behalf of the world body.

The experts also highlighted "disturbing reports" that Israeli forces had allegedly carried out extrajudicial executions of some people near the hospitals, including a Palestinian man reportedly holding a white flag.

They pointed to figures provided by the health ministry in Hamas-led Gaza indicating that at least 1,057 Palestinian health and medical professionals have been killed since the war erupted following the Palestinian militant group's October 7, 2023 attack inside Israel.

The World Health Organization has repeatedly denounced the high number of attacks on healthcare staff and facilities in the war: 1,273 attacks on healthcare in Gaza and the West Bank have been recorded since the start of the war.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned on X that the pace of desperately needed medical evacuations out of Gaza was "excruciatingly slow".

"Only 5,383 patients have been evacuated with support from WHO since October 2023, of which only 436 since the Rafah crossing was closed" last May, he said.

He said more than 12,000 people were awaiting medical evacuation from Gaza.

"At this rate, it would take 5-10 years to evacuate all these critically ill patients, including thousands of children," he added.

"In the meantime, their conditions get worse and some die."