Israeli regime forces bombed a children’s hospital in Gaza City three times over the past 24 hours, following the launching of their long-planned ground offensive in the largest city in Gaza.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said on Wednesday that the strikes hit the upper floors of al-Rantisi Children’s Hospital.
The facility is the only specialized children’s hospital in the Gaza Strip, treating 80 patients across oncology, dialysis, respiratory, and gastrointestinal care, including 12 critical cases.
The ministry said the attack is part of the regime’s systematic campaign to cripple Gaza’s health system.
According to the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF), last night’s airstrikes hit the hospital’s Pediatric Cancer Department. The organization wrote on social media, “We continue to hear terrifying reports that the Israeli military is launching continued strikes and targeted drone attacks on the hospital’s infrastructure and its patients.”
The attack forced 40 patients and their families to flee in fear, while another 40 remained alongside 30 doctors, nurses, and medical staff.
The health ministry urged the United Nations and the international community “to take immediate action to provide protection for medical staff and patients inside hospitals, and to stop the repeated attacks on health facilities.”
“It is the collective responsibility of states and global actors to protect health facilities, patients, and medical personnel from such attacks, and to hold the occupation to account,” it added.
This was not the first time al-Rantisi Children’s Hospital was targeted. In November 2023, the facility was attacked by Israeli forces, but the PCRF managed to repair the building.
Attacks on the territory’s health-care facilities have become routine, and the perpetrators have enjoyed near-total impunity from legal consequences.
Since it launched its war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, Israeli forces have struck healthcare facilities and personnel in the territory at least 1,844 times, killing hundreds of patients and healthcare workers.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 94% of hospitals in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed so far.
[ SOURCE: PRESS TV and AFP ]
