“It would be better if the Israelis kill us all…”: Israeli troops returned, but Gaza’s hospital became a pile of debris

Palestinians are searching for the dead bodies of their loved ones while wandering among the debris in the courtyard of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya city, located in the northern part of Gaza. Suddenly the crying sounds of one of them break the silence while he was wrapping the found body in a cloth for burial.

This was the sound of crying of 50-year-old Mahmood Asaf, who had come from Jabaliya with a street vendor, so that he could search for two children of his relative, who were admitted in the hospital for treatment for the last 10 days.

“I found Hadi paralyzed… He was lying on his back under the chairs, and everything was on top of him…” Mahmoud Assaf said, talking about one of the two children. He was found to be almost unconscious and was seriously burnt.

The Hamas-run Health Ministry had informed on December 12 that Israeli forces had forcibly entered Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza City during the ‘siege’ that lasted for several days.

The Israeli army said on Saturday that ‘military activities in the area of Kamal Adwan Hospital have been completed…’ The Israeli army says that “Hamas used it (Kamal Adwan Hospital) as a command and control center. ..”

Israeli forces said they also found weapons in the last government hospital operating in northern Gaza and arrested about 80 Hamas fighters from the hospital.

Mahmoud Assaf said that now that the army has withdrawn, he wanted to take the children away as soon as possible, but he was shocked by the ‘huge, indescribable destruction’ seen at the hospital. He said, “There are patients everywhere…there is nothing left to live…”

Mahmoud Assaf said, “(The children) are seriously burnt, while they have nothing to eat, drink or medical treatment…”

Israeli forces said they “interrogated hospital personnel,” who “confessed that the weapons were hidden in incubators that were to be used to treat premature babies…”

Hamas accused Israel of carrying out a “horrific massacre” at the hospital, and claimed that Israeli forces “fired into patient rooms.” Employees were arrested and the tents of the displaced people were destroyed with bulldozers.

The marks of Israeli tanks and bulldozers are clearly visible in the courtyard of Kamal Adwan Hospital.

The Israeli military’s aerial bombardment and ground attacks in response to Hamas’ unprecedented attack on Israeli territories on October 7 have caused severe damage to health infrastructure in the Gaza Strip.

According to the latest Israeli data, 1,139 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the attack so far, while Hamas militants took about 250 people hostage, of whom 105 have been released and many have been killed.

According to the Palestinian Territory’s Health Ministry, Israel has carried out ground attacks as well as sustained bombardment of Gaza in an effort to eliminate Hamas, killing more than 18,800 people, mostly women and children.

“It would be better if they kill us all…”
Israel has accused Hamas of using hospitals as command centers by hiding weapons – hospitals have special status under the laws of war – a charge Hamas denies.

The World Health Organization said in a statement on Sunday that it was “deeply concerned by the situation unfolding at Kamal Adwan Hospital and is gathering information…”

Standing outside the hospital courtyard, Abu Mohammad, who had come to search for his son, was seen crying. “They demolished the building… they killed the doctors… they didn’t even spare the doctors… they left nothing behind,” he said.

Pointing towards the debris, Abu Mohammed said, “My son is here… but I don’t know how I will find him…”

Abu Mohammad asked, “Where are the Arab countries…? Where is Sisi…?” Abu Mohammed’s question was regarding the President of the neighboring country Egypt, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who is an important mediator between Israel and the Palestinians.

“We are fed up… They (Israelis) have been killing us since 1948 (the year Israel was founded)… It would be better if they kill us all, so that instead of this torture we can rest. Can…”