UN Human Rights Office accuses Israel of destroying Gaza healthcare

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Israeli attacks on hospitals in Gaza have devastated the Palestinian enclave’s health system and raised serious concerns about Israel’s compliance with international law, the UN Human Rights Office said in a report, according to Reuters.

The 23-page report, documenting various attacks between Oct 12, 2023, and June 30, 2024, concluded that since the Hamas attacks against Israel on Oct 7, 2023, the conduct of hostilities in Gaza had had severe consequences on Palestinians’ access to medical attention.

“The destruction of the healthcare system in Gaza, and the extent of killing of patients, staff, and other civilians in these attacks, is a direct consequence of the disregard of international humanitarian and human rights law,” it said.

The report said deliberately directing attacks against hospitals and places where the sick and wounded are, provided they are not military objectives, would be war crimes.

It also warned that a systemic pattern of rights abuses against civilians could constitute crimes against humanity.

Israel has consistently rejected such suggestions. Daniel Meron, Israel’s permanent representative to the UN in Geneva, described the report’s data as fabricated.

Read the full report here.

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