INTRODUCTION

1. This report presents grave concerns regarding attacks on hospitals, as well as operations within them and in their vicinity, in Gaza covering the period 7 October 2023 to 30 June 2024. In the context of the ongoing escalation of hostilities in Gaza, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has since early October 2023 documented repeated attacks on hospitals and operations within and in the vicinity of hospitals, leading to sustained combat in and around many hospitals. This pattern has led to the destruction of most hospitals in Gaza, pushing the healthcare system to the point of almost complete collapse. Attacks on hospitals were reported in each of the areas in which the Israeli military conducted ground operations, starting in November 2023 with an attack on Al Shifa Medical Complex and other hospitals in Gaza City. At the end of June 2024, 22 out of 38 hospitals across Gaza had been rendered non-functional, according to the Ministry of Health of the State of Palestine (Palestinian MOH).

2. In gathering, assessing, and verifying the information contained in this report, and drawing conclusions based on international human rights law and international humanitarian law, OHCHR applied its standard methodology. The monitoring and verification of violations remained extremely challenging, including owing to access constraints, a high level of insecurity, and threats and direct attacks also on United Nations personnel, monitors and humanitarian actors. Nevertheless, verification work continued, and information was gathered from multiple independent sources, including victims and witnesses; military and weapons experts; open sources, including satellite imagery, videos and photos; credible organizations and individuals; official and other documentation. The analysis of the information involved legal and weapons expertise, including from independent experts. Findings are included in the report where the “reasonable grounds” standard of proof has been met, namely: based on a body of verified information, an objective and ordinarily prudent observer would have reasonable grounds to believe that the facts took place as described and, where legal conclusions are drawn, that these facts meet all the elements of a violation. On 16 December 2024, the report was shared with the Permanent Missions of Israel and the State of Palestine for factual comments. The State of Palestine and Israel responded with comments on 19 and 20 December, respectively. OHCHR welcomes receiving these comments, which can be read here.

UN Human Rights Office report on Tuesday, December 31, condemned deadly Israeli attacks on hospitals in Gaza, saying they had devastated the Palestinian occupied territory health system and raised serious concerns about Israel’s compliance with international law.

The appalling destruction wrought by the Israeli military’s attacks on the Kamal Adwan hospital last Friday – leaving the population of North Gaza with almost no access to adequate health care – reflects the pattern of attacks documented in the report. Staff and patients were forced to flee or were taken into custody, with many reports of torture and ill-treatment. The director of the hospital was taken into custody and his fate and whereabouts are unknown.