In response to reports by the Palestinian Health Ministry that a strike on Al-Ahli al-Arabi Hospital in Gaza City has killed hundreds of civilians, the following quote is attributable to Sam Zarifi, JD, LLM, executive director at Physicians for Human Rights (PHR):
“The catastrophic strike on Al-Ahli al-Arabi Hospital is among the deadliest attacks on health care across any conflict in the world in recent years. Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) calls for the immediate, unconditional protection of all patients, health care workers, and medical facilities in Gaza and Israel and continues our calls on all parties to abide by international law.
“Health workers and health facilities are not targets. Under international law, hospitals are protected places. All parties must safeguard civilians, including all health care facilities, workers, and infrastructure. Atrocities by one side never justify atrocities by the other.
“We call for an impartial, independent, international investigation into the Al-Ahli al-Arabi Hospital strike. The perpetrators must be held to account for this serious violation of international law.”
Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) is a New York-based advocacy organization that uses science and medicine to prevent mass atrocities and severe human rights violations. Learn more here.