Egypt’s Al Azhar: Kamal Adwan hospital atrocities ‘war crime committed by inhuman monsters’

CAIRO – 28 December 2024: Egypt’s Al Azhar strongly condemned the international silence regarding the atrocities committed by Israel in the Gaza Strip, particularly the recent attack on Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern area of the enclave.

In a statement on Saturday, Al Azhar denounced the Israeli targeting of patients and medical staff of the hospital, resulting in the deaths of dozens of innocent people, as well as the detention and humiliation of doctors and paramedics, forcing them to take off their clothes and kidnapping them to unknown locations.

In a scathing rebuke, Al Azhar described the actions as a "full-fledged war crime” that can only be committed by gangs devoid of mercy and morals, and monsters stripped of all human values."

Al Azhar stated, "Targeting patients and the injured in hospitals and healthcare facilities is a heinous moral crime that will be recorded in history with the blood of these innocents.”

“It will remain a testament to the shame committed by these terrorists and their supporters who provide them with weapons and political backing to commit further atrocities.”

Al Azhar reminded the world that this "ruthless and inhumane Zionist monster" has committed every conceivable war crime against the innocent Palestinian people amid a deliberate disregard for the ongoing situation in Gaza.

Al-Azhar criticized the lack of international and Arab response, expressing concern that reactions to these crimes “have been limited to meetings and resolutions whose weight does not exceed the value of the ink with which they were written.”

The statement concluded with a call for exploring alternative measures to ensure lasting peace in Palestine, stressing the urgent need for effective action against such violations.

HOSPITAL OUT OF SERVICE

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Saturday that Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia has become empty following an Israeli military operation that put the last major health facility in northern Gaza out of service.

The organization explained that 15 critically ill patients, 50 caregivers and 20 health workers were transferred yesterday evening to Beit Lahia’s Indonesian Hospital, which lacks the equipment and supplies necessary to provide adequate care.

It also said it was "horrified" by the Israeli operation, confirming that it had lost contact with the hospital director, Hussam Abu Safiya.

Israeli forces have arrested Abu Safiya during the raid and reportedly ordered patients to strip in the streets.

Friends and colleagues of Abu Safiya report that the current whereabouts of him and other staff members are unknown.

The hospital has faced frequent Israeli attacks in recent months, and its closure further worsens the already severe humanitarian crisis in northern Gaza.