KHAN YUNIS (Gaza), Jan 5 – The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) urgently appealed to the international community and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement for immediate intervention to protect the Society’s Al-Amal Hospital and its premises in the Gaza Strip amidst the ongoing Israeli airstrikes.
This includes safeguarding medical staff, patients, and approximately 14,000 internally displaced persons seeking refuge at the hospital, all in accordance with international humanitarian law and the Fourth Geneva Convention, Palestinian news agency WAFA reported the society said in a press statement.
PRCS was deeply concern over the repeated targeting by Israeli occupation forces of its premises and the Al-Amal Hospital – an affiliate of the society – in the city of Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip.
The Red Crescent reported that Israeli occupation forces had shelled multiple floors of its headquarters over the past three days, with the latest bombardment occurring this morning.
According to the statement, the direct targeting of the association’s building resulted in the murder of seven displaced individuals, including a five-day-old infant, and injured 11 others.
In addition to the casualties at the society’s premises, Israeli airstrikes struck dozens of residential buildings and gatherings of people near or around the hospital, resulting in dozens more casualties, including displaced individuals seeking refuge at the PRCS premises.
The society highlighted that the Israeli airstrikes also destroyed its communication transmission station, the only means of communication left after the cessation of various telecom services in Khan Yunis province. This significantly impedes the ability of emergency medical crews to respond to the injured, patients, and humanitarian cases, it added.
The surroundings of the Al-Amal Hospital have also been subjected to intense shelling for nearly two weeks, putting the lives of displaced individuals at risk.
