Palestinian doctors and rights advocates have denounced the killing of a senior medical official in Gaza by the Israeli military, accusing Israel of systematically attacking the healthcare system in the besieged enclave.
Israel bombed a clinic in Gaza City on Sunday night, killing Hani al-Jaafarawi, Gaza’s director of ambulance and emergency services, and four other people.
The targeted clinic, which offered general health, pediatric and dental services, was also put out of service by the Israeli attack.
“Israeli war jets bombed the clinic and completely destroyed its rooms,” said Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent Ismail Algoul, reporting from Gaza City.
“The blood of the targeted people is still on the floor, while now thousands of patients are in danger after the clinic lost all of its facilities as a result of the Israeli attack.”
Eyad Zaqout, director of the emergency department at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir el-Balah, told Al Jazeera on Monday that by killing al-Jaafarawi, Israel removed “a pillar” of the territory’s collapsing healthcare system.
“It is clear that Israeli forces are once again trying to completely destroy the health and medical system in Gaza,” Zaqout said.
“Hani al-Jaafarawi was a pillar of Gaza’s health system. He was working hard to [and] serving the sick and injured. He served day and night to serve those who lived in very difficult circumstances in Gaza.”
The Gaza Ministry of Health also praised al-Jaafarawi as a role model in his dedication and commitment to medical duty, as well as helping sick and injured Palestinians, despite the enormous challenges posed by the Israeli offensive.
“The Ministry of Health renews its demands to the international community and global organizations to end the heinous Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip and protect the health system and its workers,” the ministry said in a statement.
It stated that 500 health professionals have been killed by Israel and 310 others have been detained since the start of the war in Gaza in October.
The Israeli military said Monday that its attack was against a “Hamas weapons production headquarters” and killed a senior Hamas official responsible for developing the group’s combat capabilities.
For its part, the United States stated that the contradictory reports surrounding the attack make it “very difficult to reach the final truth.”
“Obviously, militants should not hide behind civilians – it has been that way since the beginning. And Israel must take every precaution to minimize harm to civilians,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Monday.
missing children
Meanwhile, Israel continued its bombing of Gaza. The Health Ministry said on Monday that the war death toll had reached at least 37,626.
Save the Children said on Monday that around 21,000 children were missing in Gaza.
“It is almost impossible to collect and verify information under current conditions in Gaza, but at least 17,000 children are believed to be unaccompanied and separated and approximately 4,000 children are likely missing under the rubble, with an unknown number also in mass graves,” he stated. the charity said in a statement on Monday.
“Others have been forcibly ‘disappeared’, including an unknown number detained and transferred out of Gaza, whose whereabouts are unknown to their families amid reports of ill-treatment and torture.”
At least seven Palestinians were killed in Khan Younis while awaiting much-needed aid on Monday, health officials said.
Palestinian Civil Defense said it had recovered the bodies of five Palestinians, including three children and a woman, following an Israeli raid in central Gaza.
Israel has also advanced deeper into Rafah, in southern Gaza, where Israeli army chief Herzi Halevi said the military was close to “finishing” Hamas.
“We have made tremendous achievements in the battle for Rafah… this can be seen by the number of terrorists killed, the volume of infrastructure destroyed, the [destroyed] tunnels and the advancement of underground warfare, which is very complex,” said Halevi, according to the Jerusalem Post.
Truce proposal
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that the “intense phase of the fight against Hamas is about to end.”
Netanyahu told Israel’s Channel 14 that Israel would be open to a “partial” truce with Hamas to secure the release of Israelis detained by the group, but would not agree to end the war.
His remarks appeared to contradict the US claim that Israel agreed to a Washington proposal that would lead to a “lasting” ceasefire.
American officials have emphasized that Hamas is the party blocking the multiphase agreement, presented by President Joe Biden in May.
Hamas said Netanyahu’s comments show that Israel is not seeking a ceasefire agreement, but rather buying time to continue the “war of extermination” against Gaza.
“It is now clear to the world that it is Netanyahu who is rejecting and obstructing the deal proposed in Biden’s speech and the latest UN Security Council resolution, and not Hamas,” said Izzat al-Rishq, a senior official with the group. , in a statement. statement on Monday.
The Israeli prime minister appeared to walk back his comments later on Monday, saying his government was “committed to the Israeli proposal, which President Biden welcomed.”
The US State Department suggested that Netanyahu had misspoken.
“I think all of us who speak publicly sometimes make mistakes and speak badly, and when we do, we have an obligation to clarify. And we’re glad he did,” Miller said.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
