ActionAid Ireland “horrified” at attacks on its partner hospital in northern Gaza and on Jabalia refugee camp
ActionAid Ireland said it is horrified at another devastating assault on Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza that has killed dozens, and the targeting of the upper floors of its partner hospital, Al-Awda.
The latest attack in northern Gaza is placing the three remaining hospitals in the region under immense strain, and will push medical staff beyond breaking point, ActionAid said.
After enduring weeks of an intensified brutal blockade on northern Gaza, which has left hundreds of thousands trapped without food or humanitarian aid, all three hospitals in the area – including Al-Awda are under attack and now under siege. Schools sheltering thousands of people have remained constant targets, placing an even greater strain on overwhelmed hospitals.
ActionAid Ireland CEO, Karol Balfe, said: “Amidst the brutal assault, we are hearing that hospital floors are now strewn with dead bodies with injured in need of urgent care. In the past few hours, our partner hospital Al-Awda —now operating under total siege—has admitted dozens more patients, and is struggling to provide care due to a severe shortage of medicine, doctors, and medical supplies.”
Ms Balfe said ActionAid understands that northern Gaza’s two other hospitals, the Indonesian Hospital and Kamal Adwan—both treating countless wounded from the Israeli forces’ attack on Jabalia refugee camp—are now encircled by Israeli tanks and bulldozers, placing them under an intense siege.
She said: “These blatant violations of international humanitarian law by Israeli forces are egregious and unacceptable. The international community must act now, imposing sanctions and a full arms embargo to protect the lives of Palestinians and ensure Israel complies fully with international law.”
Ms Balfe added: “After two weeks of a brutal siege on northern Gaza, the situation is near-apocalyptic. With each passing day that peace is delayed, the international community remains complicit in the deaths of innocent civilians who are being systematically deprived of food, water, medicine and hope. A ceasefire isn’t just urgent – it’s a moral imperative.”
The Acting Director of Al-Awda hospital, Dr Mohammed Salah, described to RTE Radio news last week the unthinkable conditions that patients and staff in the hospital have to endure, with doctors and nurses working under huge pressure with very limited medical supplies. On one given day last week 5 women has caesarean sections without full anaesthetic, he said.
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