Controversy Surrounds Alleged Israeli Troop Actions at Hospital Claimed to be a Hamas Command Center
Israeli soldiers accused of desecrating bodies, attacking patients, and shooting doctors at Kamal Adwan hospital in Gaza Allegations suggest the hospital was used as a Hamas command center This article delves into the operation, Israel's rationale for targeting hospitals, eyewitness accounts, and another hospital similarly affected
Israeli soldiers allegedly desecrated the bodies of deceased patients with bulldozers, allowed a military dog to attack a man in a wheelchair, and reportedly shot multiple doctors at a hospital in northern Gaza. These allegations were made by the staff and patients and are related to an eight-day operation by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) at the Kamal Adwan Hospital, which they claim was being used as a command and control center by Hamas.
CNN interviewed two senior medical staff, an additional doctor, and a patient at the hospital, all of whom provided corroborating testimonies of the events. Video evidence was also reviewed by CNN to corroborate some of the claims.
The accounts given paint a troubling picture of the operation carried out by the IDF, with doctors being interrogated about their ties to Hamas and hospital staff facing challenges in treating trapped patients.
The IDF claims that Hamas conceals terrorist infrastructure within civilian institutions in Gaza, including hospitals, and asserts that targeting these locations is necessary to eradicate Hamas from the Gaza Strip. Despite this, the operations are highly debated, with humanitarian organizations asserting that medical facilities in Gaza are unable to offer essential services.
One of the most severe accusations regarding the IDF's actions at Kamal Adwan is that, as military personnel were departing the hospital complex, they utilized bulldozers to unearth bodies that had been recently buried in makeshift graveyards in the hospital's courtyard.
The head of pediatric services at the hospital, Hossam Abu Safiya, reported that the soldiers excavated the graves and used bulldozers to move and crush the bodies earlier that morning. In a phone interview on Saturday, he expressed shock at the unprecedented sight and shared videos and images with CNN showing scattered human remains in the hospital grounds.
The allegation was supported by the hospitals head of nursing, Eid Sabbah, and another nurse, Asmaa Tanteesh.
Satellite imagery from December 15 shows the razed hospital grounds.
Satellite image ©ï¸2023 Maxar Technologies
"Tanteesh informed CNN that the bodies in the courtyard were being plowed under as we helplessly shouted and screamed, but no one listened. Satellite images taken on December 15, just before the IDF left the hospital area, reveal the flattened grounds outside the hospital complex."
When CNN approached the IDF for comment on the allegations, the IDF did not directly address them but did acknowledge carrying out an operation at the hospital. A statement to CNN claimed that 80 terrorists, including some involved in the October 7th massacre, were apprehended during the operation.
In addition, the IDF released a video of the hospital director's interrogation and issued a statement claiming that he admitted the hospital was being used for military purposes. It is unclear whether this statement was made under duress.
Abu Safiya, the pediatrics director, and Sabbah, the chief nurse, argued that the hospital solely offered medical services and that the individuals arrested were civilians and medical staff.
Palestinians inspect damage following an Israeli raid at Kamal Adwan hospital.
Fadi Alwhidifa/Reuters
What we know about the operation at Kamal Adwan
The Israeli military has been targeting Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza for over a week now, carrying out strikes and shelling in the vicinity. The hospital's Facebook page indicates that it operates under the administration of the Ministry of Interior, which is controlled by Hamas in Gaza.
Ever since the commencement of the Israel-Hamas war, the hospital has been providing refuge and medical care for the injured and displaced civilians of Gaza, as reported on its social media platforms and by eyewitnesses. The situation intensified on Monday, December 11, when hospital director Dr. Ahmed Al Kahlot informed CNN that the hospital had been surrounded by Israeli forces.
The following day, Israeli forces destroyed the western wall of the hospital complex, as reported by Abu Safiya. He stated that soldiers used loudspeakers to instruct any men seeking shelter inside to come out. What transpired afterward was described as "worse than a nightmare" for those still in the hospital.
Abu Safiya stated that he and four other doctors were given permission to stay at the hospital to care for 62 people, including multiple infants. Describing the chaotic week, he spoke urgently, concerned that the cell phone signal in Gaza might cut out as it often does. He explained that with Israeli troops surrounding them and parts of the complex destroyed by shelling, there was no care that they could provide. The hospital was lacking basic necessities such as food, water, electricity, milk for children, and supplies of medicine.
Tanteesh, the nurse, remembers pleading for water but her requests were ignored by Israeli troops who surrounded them in the courtyard. She described the desperate situation, saying "We had no water, our throats were dry, and we begged them for water from morning till evening." Tragically, some children lost their lives during the Israeli operation at the hospital. Tanteesh and the other nurses tried to mix milk with a salt solution in an attempt to feed the youngest patients in the hospital.
The Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health in Gaza has called for immediate investigation by human rights organizations into what they have termed the "massacre" at Kamal Adwan Hospital. They claim that children were trapped for long periods without access to water, food, electricity, and medical care.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization, has accused Israeli forces of causing the deaths of at least eight patients, including a 9-year-old child, due to the "effective destruction" of the hospital over the past few days.
Why Israel carries out operations at hospitals
Gazas hospitals have been the focal point of Israel's attention since the commencement of its ground offensive in late October. Israel has attempted to justify its actions by providing evidence of Hamas using medical facilities for military purposes. News media have been invited to film tunnels and underground rooms located beneath Shifa, Gazas largest hospital. Additionally, Israel has displayed weapons that it claims were found at other hospitals.
The IDF reported finding evidence of militant activity at Kamal Adwan, including a variety of weapons, military equipment, and intelligence documents belonging to Hamas. Additionally, an edited interrogation video of Kamal Adwan's director, Al Kahlot, in Israeli custody was released by the IDF and Israel's security service. In the video, Al Kahlot admitted to Hamas' use of hospitals for military purposes and his affiliation with the organization. However, it is unclear how Al Kahlot's statement was obtained and whether it was made under duress.
The International Committee of the Red Cross typically views the publication of interrogation footage of prisoners of war as a breach of the Geneva Conventions, which aim to shield POWs from public scrutiny.
Last week, the IDF released photos and videos depicting young men brandishing weapons - alleged militants surrendering their arms at Kamal Adwan hospital. However, individuals interviewed by CNN revealed that these men were actually civilians seeking refuge in the hospital after being displaced from other areas of Gaza.
Tanteesh stated that despite their claim that there were no resistance fighters in the hospital, their words were dismissed. Abu Safiya and Sabbah added that the guns seen in the pictures actually belonged to hospital security guards. "I witnessed the army instructing displaced civilians and the medical team to carry the weapons left by the security guards in the hospital guard room and taking photos of them," Abu Safiya explained.
A crushed car on top of rubble outside Kamal Adwan Hospital.
Fadi Alwhidifa/Reuters
âThey shot at me and laughedâ
Abu Safiya recounted several incidents in which he claims Israeli troops intentionally harassed individuals they knew were not suspects. According to Abu Safiya, Dr. Ayman Rajab was released by soldiers after being questioned, and then shot in the chest while attempting to return to the hospital. Another doctor was shot in the leg, and Abu Safiya's son was also shot in the abdomen. Gaza's Health Ministry has supported this accusation, stating that at least five detainees were shot by IDF troops after being instructed to return to the hospital.
Trapped inside Kamal Adwan, Abu Safiya recounts watching his wounded colleagues and his son crawling along the road until an ambulance finally reached them and transported them to a different hospital. In another harrowing experience, Abu Safiya claims that he was targeted by soldiers in the early morning hours on Friday when they asked him to check on some movement outside the hospital for them.
Per their instructions, he located an elderly man wounded and lying on the ground in front of the building. However, when Abu Safiya attempted to help the man, he claims that the soldiers observing started shooting at him. "They shot at me and mocked me," he recounted.
"After evading their gunfire, they summoned me again and told me to bring the man inside," he stated. Eventually, he managed to bring the man indoors, but it was too late. Due to inadequate medical resources, the man could not receive treatment at the hospital and ultimately succumbed to his injuries, according to Abu Safiya.
During another incident, Abu Safiya reported that Israeli military dogs equipped with cameras were deployed into the hospital for reconnaissance. According to Safiya, one of the dogs viciously "attacked and mauled" an elderly man in a wheelchair before being called off. "The man's screams of pain and the sight of children and women crying created a scene that was beyond horrifying," he recounted. "I felt helpless as one of their soldiers arrived to retrieve the dog, laughing callously at the old man and the harm the dog had inflicted."
A child receiving treatment for a broken leg at the hospital reported witnessing dogs entering and attacking an elderly man. He described feeling tortured and unable to sleep due to the frightening nights. The IDF did not respond to the allegations, but stated that their operation near the hospital was focused on targeting Hamas.
Another hospital under siege
Although hospitals are protected by international law, they can be considered legitimate military targets if they are discovered to be harboring able-bodied combatants and weapons.
Even in such situations, soldiers are still bound by ethical and legal rules when dealing with civilians. The presence of weapons or injured soldiers at a hospital does not automatically make it a legitimate military target.
According to Article 19 of the Geneva Convention, nursing sick or wounded soldiers in these hospitals, or the presence of small arms and ammunition not yet handed to the proper service, is not considered harmful to the enemy.
The IDF stated that workers at the hospital were questioned, and confessed to hiding weapons in incubators in the NICU intended for premature babies. After the questioning, IDF troops discovered weapons, classified documents, and tactical communications equipment. Israels ongoing military operations in and around Gaza's hospitals have sparked strong criticism, with medical workers and NGOs cautioning that the raids put patients at risk and render hospitals unusable.
The already struggling health system in Gaza has been further devastated by the loss of yet another hospital. WHO chief Ghebreyesus emphasized that attacks on hospitals, health workers, and patients must come to an end. Despite mounting international criticism, Israel continues its military pursuit of Hamas, resulting in a growing civilian toll in hospitals and elsewhere in Gaza. As of Tuesday, Doctors Without Borders reported that Israeli troops had surrounded the Al-Awda hospital in northern Gaza, with patients still inside.
CNNs Gianluca Mezzofiore and Ibahim Dahmin contributed to this reporting
