Ismail al-Thawabta, head of the Government Media Office in Gaza, stressed that “attacking medical personnel and their families is a flagrant violation of the principle of medical neutrality and the protection of health personnel.”

Quoted by the Safa news agency, the official warned that the military has also arrested more than 360 health workers since the beginning of the conflict on October 7, 2023, many of whom were subjected to torture in prisons.

Attacks against medical personnel, their homes, vehicles, or health facilities amount to a war crime and fall under the principle of deliberate killing, he stressed.

Al-Thawabat stressed that the shortage of medicines and supplies, coupled with the displacement of specialists from their homes, exacerbated the humanitarian suffering in the Strip.

Doctors and medical personnel announced earlier this month that they would remain in hospitals in northern Gaza City to carry out their duties to care for the sick and wounded, despite Israeli threats.

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