The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip has called on the international community, UN institutions and human rights organisations to intervene urgently to provide protection for hospitals, medical teams and patients, to stop Israeli attacks on health facilities and to hold those responsible accountable, warning of the consequences of the continued targeting of the health system and of what remains of its capacity to deliver medical services.
In a press statement, the ministry condemned the targeting of the surgery building at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis after midnight on Wednesday, which led to the martyrdom of six people from medical teams, patients and their companions, among them Dr. Rezk Abu Shaira, in addition to a number of other injuries.
It affirmed that targeting a medical facility housing patients receiving treatment and teams performing their humanitarian and professional duty constitutes a serious assault on the health system and a blatant violation of international laws and covenants that guarantee the protection of hospitals, medical facilities, their workers and patients.
It warned that the continued targeting of hospitals and their medical facilities deepens the suffering of patients and the wounded and threatens what remains of the health sector's ability to continue providing its services, amid the catastrophic humanitarian and health conditions in the Gaza Strip.
