MEDIA CONTACT: Prapti Ajmera, West End Strategy Team

[email protected], +1 (202) 867-5231

[email protected]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 27, 2024

MedGlobal Condemns Ongoing Violent Assault on Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza

MedGlobal unequivocally condemns the brutal violation of a protected medical space as our colleagues report 50 people killed, including five medical workers, in Israeli military strikes on Kamal Adwan hospital. The remaining healthcare workers and patients have been detained or forced to flee as bombing has destroyed and set ablaze parts of the hospital.

MedGlobal is gravely concerned that Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, MedGlobal’s lead physician in Gaza and the Director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, may be among those detained. 

Rajaa Musleh, MedGlobal’s Gaza Country Director, stated, “Dr. Abu Safiya and his team constitute the lifeline of healthcare provision in northern Gaza. Their violent removal from service threatens to plunge the community deeper into a survival crisis. Immediate action is imperative to restore the most basic access to healthcare, which every human being has the right to.”

Joseph Belliveau, MedGlobal’s Executive Director, underscored that “Healthcare personnel and facilities are protected under International Humanitarian Law and must never become targets in hostilities. We call upon the Israeli military and the international community to mobilize in defense of medical neutrality, stop targeting medical facilities and secure the unconditional release of all detained healthcare workers.”

MedGlobal notes that this incident follows the prior detention of five MedGlobal healthcare staff on October 26, 2024. These detentions, coupled with the current assault on Kamal Adwan, reflect an alarming and egregious pattern of targeting medical personnel and spaces, undermining the fundamental right of all civilians to health and safety in armed conflict.

MedGlobal stands in unwavering solidarity with our colleagues and patients in Gaza and reaffirms its mission to facilitate the uninterrupted delivery of critical medical aid to crisis-affected populations.

Stop the bombing. Stop the arbitrary detentions. Stop the killing of civilians and healthcare workers.