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Israel must rescind forced evacuation orders issued to 23 hospitals in Gaza. These hospitals give life-saving care to over 2,000 patients and are the last safe haven for tens of thousands of displaced families.

On 13 October, 23 hospitals in the north of Gaza Strip and Gaza City received forced evacuation orders from the Israeli army. These evacuation orders are virtually impossible to carry out - transferring patients through destroyed buildings, across rubble and through the conflict - all without fuel, is absolutely unreasonable.

“Evacuating this hospital is virtually impossible since moving patients from the ICU, moving incubated newborn babies, the injured who number more than fifty, is just impossible,” a doctor at Al-Quds hospital, one of the 23 hospitals told Amnesty International.

If these “evacuations” were carried out, it would lead to the complete collapse of Gaza’s healthcare system. In the words of the World Health Organization, these evacuations would be a “death sentence” for any patients with serious wounds or illnesses. 

Israel cannot consider the whole of the Gaza Strip, its hospitals and civilian infrastructure, a military target. Doctors and nurses in Gaza are heroically working to save lives, amid unthinkable horror. Many of them have lost family, friends and colleagues but still persevere through ongoing attacks in an awe-inspiring commitment to humanity.

As of 22 October, over 4,650 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza including 1,873 children, and over 14,245 wounded during the ongoing Israeli strikes that began on 7 October. It’s estimated over 1.4 million people have been displaced since the outbreak of recent hostilities according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Add your name to the petition to demand Israeli authorities rescind evacuation orders, and protect healthcare facilities as required under international humanitarian law.

 

 

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Mr. Yoav Gallant
Minister of Defence
Hakirya, 6473424,   
Tel-Aviv, Israel   

Mr. Yoav Gallant,  

I am writing to urge you to immediately rescind the forced evacuation orders you issued to hospitals in northern Gaza and in Gaza City and to ensure unconditional protection of patients, health workers and the tens of thousands of internally displaced persons seeking shelter in these hospitals.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed that 23 hospitals in Northern Gaza and Gaza City have received repeated orders to evacuate. These hospitals currently treat more than 2,000 patients and serve as the only safe haven for tens of thousands of civilians who sought refuge from Israeli air strikes. Forcing these patients to evacuate and relocate to southern Gaza, where health facilities are already on the brink of collapse would be a death sentence for seriously wounded and ill patients, according to the WHO.

Hospitals in northern Gaza and Gaza City are already overloaded with patients and struggling to deal with the humanitarian crisis caused by Israel’s incessant bombardment. This situation is exacerbated by Israeli authorities’ decision to tighten the existing blockade by cutting Gaza’s electricity, fuel, water and medical supplies. These hospitals are treating hundreds of wounded each day, in addition to pregnant women, babies in incubators and severely ill patients, forcing doctors to operate in corridors and tents outside. Fuel reserves are running out and electricity cuts are more frequent putting the lives of thousands of patients in imminent risk. 

Some of these 23 hospitals have already been attacked and sustained damages. While Amnesty International is still investigating the 17 October attack on the al-Ahli Arab Baptist hospital, it has already verified that this very hospital had been deliberately targeted by two Israeli artillery shells on 14 October. And on 22 October, the Israeli army sent a new warning to Al-Quds hospital, run by the Palestinian Red Crescent Society to evacuate and on the same day proceeded to bomb the vicinity of the hospital.

In light of the imminent danger to the life of tens of thousands of patients, displaced civilians and health workers, I urge you to immediately rescind the order and ensure that health facilities, health workers, patients, and internationally displaced people are protected against attacks, as required by international humanitarian law.

Yours sincerely

 
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