Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza remains under direct attack by Israeli forces. After a prolonged siege on the facility, Israeli strikes have damaged critical infrastructure, including water tanks, and injured patients and staff. “Following intense fighting, a siege, and a raid, Kamal Adwan has been reduced from a hospital helping hundreds of patients with dozens of health workers to a shell of itself,” stated WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
The latest attacks have destroyed key medical equipment for treating children and newborns, including incubators. Video footage from the hospital shows agitated efforts by staff to move children as Israeli forces target the upper floors of the building. Since children’s and neonatal care in Gaza has suffered severe blows since October 2023, the impact of these latest attacks on Kamal Adwan will deepen the overall healthcare crisis, exacerbated by the fact that most children are exposed to hunger and infectious diseases.
The situation at Al-Awda Hospital is similarly dire. The facility has received no fuel since early October and key services, including ambulance transport, were forced to cease as a result of the attacks. Although limited UN missions have reached the hospital to conduct medical evacuations, they were not allowed to deliver critical supplies, pushing the facility to the brink of collapse. Health workers have voiced fears that ongoing attacks on hospitals in northern Gaza may be intended to completely annihilate healthcare in the region, including by exterminating medical staff who refuse to leave.
Despite targeted attacks and health workers’ concerns about safety, Kamal Adwan and Al-Awda continue to represent the only available point of care for northern Gaza residents. With the hospitals overwhelmed, many patients are dying within days due to scarce medical capacity, Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud reported on November 5.
Read more: “No treatment, no pain relief, no escape,” UN says on healthcare in Gaza
Other healthcare facilities in the north are also under attack by Israeli forces. Shortly after the polio vaccination campaign in northern Gaza resumed in early November, a primary health center designated as an immunization site was hit, injuring patients and staff. This attack was carried out despite the center being located in an area where a humanitarian pause was agreed to allow vaccination to proceed, according to the WHO.
Because of these ongoing attacks and restrictions imposed by Israeli authorities, the polio vaccination campaign in northern Gaza only reached around 94,000 children out of the planned 119,000. In other parts of the Gaza Strip, WHO and partners were able to achieve or even surpass their 90% coverage goal, but the vaccination rate in northern Gaza dropped below 80%. WHO officials noted that while many children received their vaccines, the continuous obstructions by Israeli forces undermined the overall campaign. The area designated for immunization was restricted compared to previous phases, and the attack on the primary health center highlighted that even these limited zones were not spared from attacks. Rik Peeperkorn, WHO representative for Palestine, described the immunization drive as without doubt “a compromised campaign.”
Read more: Final phase of polio vaccination in Gaza suspended amid Israeli attacks
Women’s health in Gaza also continues to be severely impacted by Israeli obstructions. The UN estimates that 155,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women have been affected by attacks on healthcare facilities, with experts warning of rising rates of complicated, high-risk pregnancies and women forced to give birth without any medical support.
Palestinian prisoners have been denied access to healthcare as well. Prisoners’ associations recently reported on health conditions among political prisoners in Negev detention camp, revealing that “all detainees are infected with scabies and don’t receive any medical treatment, and [are] deprived of hygiene and bathing supplies,” leading to worsening health conditions.
As if this was not enough, new concerns about healthcare access have emerged after the Israeli parliament banned UNRWA’s work. “No one in the UN can replace UNRWA,” agreed Tedros and Peeperkorn. They explained that while WHO organizes medical missions into Gaza, UNRWA’s mandate is essential for ongoing healthcare delivery. Besides coordinating with other agencies, UNRWA directly provides health services, meaning that, once the ban comes into effect, it will leave even more people across Palestine without lifesaving care.
People’s Health Dispatch is a fortnightly bulletin published by the People’s Health Movement and Peoples Dispatch. For more articles and to subscribe to People’s Health Dispatch, click here.
