GAZA, (PIC)
The European Union (EU) said on Monday that 31 out of 36 hospitals in the Gaza Strip have been damaged or destroyed and that the remaining ones are “on the verge of collapse or had to be closed” due to the situation in the enclave.
This came in a joint statement by EU High Representative Josep Borrell and Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič on attacks on medical and civilian infrastructure in Gaza and the West Bank.
Among the destroyed is the Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest medical complex in Gaza, which remains today completely out of service, the joint statement reads.
The remaining hospitals in Gaza are partially functioning, and operating under severe limitations. Due to the dire situation many of them are on the verge of collapse or had to be closed, it added.
“Access to emergency medical care is even more crucial at a time when Palestinians in Gaza live under constant shelling and more than 9,000 severely injured people are at risk of dying due to the lack of adequate health care.”
Since October 7, the World Health Organization (WHO) has recorded a total of 890 attacks on health facilities, with 443 occurring in Gaza and 447 in the West Bank.
Attacks against health-care workers, hospitals, and ambulances disrupt vital medical services. They deprive people of life-saving treatment. These attacks must end, the EU statement stressed.
At the same time, regarding the mandatory protection of civilians under International Humanitarian Law, the EU strongly condemned the use of hospitals for any purposes other than medical.
The EU also expressed concern about the continuous attacks on healthcare in the West Bank, where over 50 health facilities and 300 ambulances have been deliberately damaged in the past months.
