Hospitals in northern Gaza need your support

JVL has been receiving increasingly urgent and distressing messages from the doctors in Beit Lahiya and elsewhere in northern Gaza as they have seen their hospitals pummelled and destroyed by Israeli troops. We have earlier asked readers to write to MPs and support financial appeals. Political action and financial support remain essential, please use this briefing as the basis to write to MPs, ministers and local and national media.

1. We were first asked to help on 8th October, when the Kamal Adwan Hospital was surrounded by IDF calling for the hospital to be evacuated within 24 hours (Al Awda and Indonesian faced similar conditions but we are uncertain of the exact timescale). Dr Husam Abu Safiyeh, Director of the hospital, stated that all the hospital leads agreed that they cannot abandon their posts as it would leave North Gaza with no hospital healthcare services. Therefore, they made a decision to stay as healthcare workers and continue to provide a service
2. Although the humanitarian blockade on north Gaza began in early October, the besieging of the hospitals began later, on the 8th October for Kamal Adwan. The Indonesian hospital was put under total blockade by Israeli soldiers and quadcopters outside the hospitals not allowing fuel, water, food to the staff or patients. At no point has there ever been any combatants inside any of the hospitals, as confirmed repeatedly by staff.
3. We received information that both the Indonesian and Kamal Adwan have been subjected to direct assault by the IDF and both patients and staff have died or been injured as a direct consequence. Again, the staff confirm that in none of these situations were there any combatants inside the hospital
4. On Wednesday 23rd October occupation forces directly attacked the headquarters of the ambulance services and civil defence, taking both services out. This has led to the incapacitation of any ambulatory care which means people cannot be rescued from under the rubble nor can they be brought to hospital to receive treatment
5. On Friday 25th October the IDF invaded Kamal Adwan and forcibly abducted over 30 medical staff and only later releasing the hospital director, leaving only 2 doctors inside Kamal Adwan – the only centre in the north that had any capacity to deal with war related injuries. Now, even if patients are able to bring themselves into hospital, by horse and cart usually, since then, there is no facility for them to be treated.
6. When Dr Abu Safiya was released he returned to the hospital only to learn that his eight year old son had been killed by the Israelis. Despite this he returned to work treating patients
7. A repeated cry for help has been made by both the hospital director, Dr Husam Abu Safiyeh, and the Director of Nursing, Dr Eid Sabbah. Dr Husam have had to perform emergency surgery on an injured child to save the child’s life, despite Dr Husam not being a surgeon.
8. In the last few days the hospital has been receiving continuous and increasingly violent military attacks by the IDF. Again there are no combatants in the hospital
9. Kamal Adwan is now, 4th November, under a violent attack by the IDF. The staff feel this is the final and last attack to completely destroy any form of life saving facility in the isolated north of the Gaza strip. They have said

The occupation forces continue to bomb and destroy Kamal Adwan Hospital violently, affecting all the hospital facilities. There are many injuries among the medical staff and patients. The medical staff cannot move between the hospital departments and cannot rescue their injured colleagues. It seems that a decision has been made to execute all the staff who refused to evacuate the hospital.

Please help