At least 150 people have been killed in two days of intense airstrikes on Gaza on Thursday, 2nd January, and Friday, 3rd January.
This comes as Israel continues its military campaign against Hamas while also negotiating for a ceasefire and the release of hostages. As talks resume in Qatar, senior Hamas official Basem Naim has stated that the Palestinian group is serious about reaching a ceasefire agreement, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, and the return of the population to their homes.
Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas has led to the near-total destruction of Gaza’s health sector. According to Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI), the health system in northern Gaza will be entirely obliterated if Israel proceeds with the evacuation of the last two operational medical centres.
In a statement on social media, PHRI warned that if the Indonesian Hospital and al-Awda Hospital are forced to close by Israeli military action, “there will be no medical centres left in northern Gaza.”
The group further condemned Israel’s actions, stating that Israel is “persistently destroying civilian infrastructure across the region and forcibly displacing the entire Palestinian population in violation of international law.” PHRI called on international actors to intervene immediately to halt what it described as Israel’s “ethnic cleansing” in northern Gaza.
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk reported that the UN has documented 136 Israeli attacks on 27 health facilities in Gaza, resulting in “significant death and destruction.”
Human rights group Amnesty International also condemned Israel’s detention of Dr. Hussam Abu Safia, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, calling it an example of the “genocidal intent” behind Israel’s broader efforts to “annihilate” Gaza’s healthcare sector.
Since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza on 7th October 2023, at least 45,658 Palestinians have been killed and 108,583 injured. On the day of the Hamas-led attacks, 1,139 Israelis were killed, and more than 200 were taken captive.
