Photo: Activestills
The humanitarian crisis in northern Gaza has spiraled to catastrophic levels in recent weeks following Israel’s intensified military operations and evacuation orders issued between October 5 and 7. For over two weeks, Palestinians have been subjected to relentless ground and aerial assaults while trapped under a brutal blockade, causing devastating shortages of food, medical supplies, and essential humanitarian aid.
Estimates suggest that 70,000 individuals have been forcibly displaced from northern Gaza, with at least 900 killed. Residents are fleeing the violence and starvation deliberately inflicted by Israel to drive out the population. Gazans, living in constant fear and terror, are forced to choose between ethnic cleansing or facing the numerous threats to their lives in northern Gaza. Those seeking refuge in designated “safe zones” have been bombarded almost immediately upon arrival, and areas that Israeli forces claim to be safe are repeatedly targeted.
Simultaneously, health conditions in northern Gaza have deteriorated dramatically. The main hospitals, which were already operating at limited capacity, are now functioning minimally since receiving the evacuation orders from Israel, exacerbated by the ongoing siege and shortages of medical supplies, fuel, food, and water. This crisis endangers the lives of over 350 patients, especially those in intensive care units, infants, and individuals dependent on life-support machines.
Invasions of hospitals, attacks on medical personnel, and their arrests have become routine. The Israeli military surrounds hospitals, launching assaults and placing them under siege, endangering everyone inside and around these facilities.
Dr. Munir al-Bursh updated us during a conversation that only three physicians remain at Kamal Adwan Hospital following an attack by Israeli forces, who burned ambulances and arrested 30 staff members. He also mentioned that soldiers had blocked all ambulance movement and fired upon oxygen tanks, killing two children and causing injuries to dozens more.
The deliberate targeting of Palestinian medical staff extends beyond assaults on hospitals, sieges, and the arrests or injuries of physicians—it also impacts their families and communities. Kamal Adwan Hospital director Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya shared with us two days ago that, despite threats to his own life and his family’s safety, he has chosen to remain by his patients’ side in northern Gaza. He endures this commitment even as he mourns the loss of his son, who was killed in an Israeli attack on Jabalia.
Al-Awda Hospital and its surrounding area have been encircled and bombarded by Israeli forces, who also detained Dr. Mohammed Obeid, head of the orthopedic surgery unit. From inside the hospital, Dr. Baher Abu Safiya reported that a drone was firing at anything that moved in or around the medical facility. Currently, 40 individuals, including both patients and staff, remain in the hospital. The Indonesian Hospital faced similar encirclement and bombardment, with the Palestinian Ministry of Health reporting the deaths of two patients due to a power outage. Approximately 120 patients and staff are still inside.
Dr. al-Bursh estimates that 300,000 residents remain in northern Gaza. Israel’s systematic assaults aim to deplete the last three functioning hospitals of their medical staff, effectively paralyzing Gaza’s healthcare system and dismantling civil society, thus preventing any resistance against efforts to empty the entire region of its inhabitants.
We continue to urgently call on all international organizations and healthcare professionals worldwide: Act now to prevent the destruction of Gaza’s healthcare system and hospitals in northern Gaza, and pressure Israel to cease its crimes in Gaza.
