Israel-Hamas war: Deadly strike on ambulance, UN ‘horrified’

Although Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected the idea of ​​a humanitarian pause without the release of hostages, attacks on the Gaza Strip are intensifying and are no longer sparing medical personnel: the Israeli army has admitted that it hit an ambulance near Gaza’s main hospital, al-Chifa, because it was believed to be carrying members of Hamas.

An explanation that rejects the Palestinian Islamist movement, classified as a “terrorist organization” by Israel, the United States and the European Union. Israel’s claims “about the presence of militants inside the ambulances they are targeting are false, and are a new lie added to the constant lies (…) used to justify its crimes,” Hamas denies in a press release published in Telegram.

The strike killed 15 people and wounded 60, including civilians in front of the hospital, according to the Hamas Health Ministry and the Palestinian Red Crescent. They claimed that the ambulance was part of a convoy transporting several wounded to Egypt.

Injured doctor

“The convoy consisted of five ambulances,” including one from the Hamas Health Ministry and one from the Red Crescent, the non-governmental organization said in a statement. According to him, the explosion occurred two meters from the entrance to the Al-Chifa hospital. An AFP correspondent saw several bodies and injured people near the damaged ambulance. A second ambulance was attacked “about a kilometer from the hospital” and injuries were reported, the humanitarian organization added.

The doctor was slightly wounded by shrapnel in one leg. The Red Crescent reminded that “a deliberate attack on medical teams constitutes a serious violation of the Geneva Convention.”

WHO chief ‘deeply shocked’

The head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, is “deeply shocked.” He reminded that “patients, caregivers, facilities and ambulances must be protected at all times.” The UN chief also said he was “horrified” by the strike, adding that the conflict between Israel and Hamas must “end.” “The images of bodies strewn on the street in front of the hospital are heartbreaking,” António Guterres lamented in a statement.

UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territories Lynne Hastings said she was “alarmed” because the strike targeted “patients who were about to be evacuated for safety.”

Another strike “targeting” a school converted into a temporary camp for displaced people in the northern Gaza Strip killed 20 people and wounded dozens more, according to the Hamas health ministry.