New York - Gaza: Europe and the Arabs
Three regional United Nations officials called for urgent international action to stop the ongoing attacks on hospitals in Gaza, noting the killing of many civilians and reports of the death of children and newborns in Al-Shifa Hospital due to the interruption of basic supplies. According to the daily news bulletin issued by the United Nations United
Regional Directors of the United Nations Population Fund, Laila Bakr, UNICEF, Adele Khader, and the World Health Organization, Ahmed Al-Mandhari, said in a joint statement: “We are horrified by the recent reports of attacks on Al-Shifa, Al-Rantisi, Al-Nasr, and Jerusalem hospitals, and in the vicinity of those hospitals, and on hospitals.” Another in Gaza City and the northern Gaza Strip, killing many people, including children.
They stated that the intense hostilities surrounding many hospitals in northern Gaza prevent health workers, wounded and other patients from safely reaching those hospitals.
They pointed to reports that premature babies and newborns connected to devices necessary for their survival are now dying due to the lack of electricity, oxygen and water in Al-Shifa Hospital, and that other hospitals are also exposed to this danger.
Staff in a number of hospitals have reported a lack of fuel, water and basic medical supplies, putting the lives of all patients in imminent danger.
Over the course of 36 days, the World Health Organization recorded at least 137 attacks on health care in Gaza, resulting in the death of 521 people and the injury of 686 others, including 16 deaths and 38 injuries among health workers while performing their work.

A violation of international humanitarian law
The three officials said that attacks on medical facilities and civilians are unacceptable, violate international humanitarian law and international human rights laws and conventions, and cannot be tolerated. They added that the right to seek medical assistance, especially in times of crisis, is a right that no one should ever be deprived of.
Currently, more than half of the hospitals in the Gaza Strip have stopped working. The UN officials said: “As for the remaining hospitals that are still operating, they are groaning under tremendous pressure and can only provide very limited emergency services, the surgeries necessary to save lives, and intensive care services.”
They said that the world cannot remain silent as hospitals, which should be safe havens, are turning into arenas of death, destruction and despair. They stressed the need to take decisive international action now to ensure an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, stop the loss of life, and preserve what remains of the health care system in Gaza.
They called for regular, safe and unimpeded access to fuel, medical supplies and water to continue these essential life-saving services.
They concluded their statement by stressing the need to "stop the violence now."