A/HRC/28/78
24.
In August 2014, the Special Rapporteur addressed a letter of allegation to the
Government of Israel on emblematic cases of alleged disproportionate or indiscriminate
attacks that had resulted in the killing of innocent civilians, including children. While no
response to the letter had been received as at 9 December 2014, the Military Advocate
General ordered a number of cases to be closed, including one of the cases raised by the
Special Rapporteur together with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or
arbitrary executions regarding the killing of two disabled Palestinian women at a care
centre in Beit Lahiya on 12 July 2014.19
E.
Right to health
25.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Heath, more than 11,100 Palestinians,
including 3,374 children, were injured during the hostilities in July and August 2014.20
Ministry officials noted that an estimated 3,500 patients were admitted to hospital requiring
surgical interventions. Many Palestinians, including children, are now struggling with lifelong disabilities. An estimated 30 per cent of children in Gaza were exposed to high levels
of traumatic stress. Tens of thousands of men, women and children live with the trauma of
having witnessed the horrific killings of family members, friends and neighbours before
their own eyes.
26.
Health professionals based in Gaza recounted to the Special Rapporteur that, while
treating dozens of patients every day in the emergency ward, the hospitals where they
worked also came under attack from Israeli airstrikes and shelling. A representative of the
World Health Organization (WHO) reported that 75 hospitals, primary health centres and
clinics were damaged and in need of repair or maintenance. One hospital (Al Wafa) and
five other primary health centres had been totally destroyed, while two others and five
clinics had sustained major damage; 63 health-care facilities suffered minor damage. In one
attack, on 19 July, the Shuhada al-Aqsa hospital in central Gaza was hit by multiple rounds
of tank shells, reportedly killing one patient, a nurse and three medical staffers. The same
attack destroyed the operating theatres and life support units of the hospital, severely
hampering its ability to care for patients.
27.
The right to health for the population in Gaza during the conflict was affected not
only by direct hits on hospitals and medical facilities (a total of 23 medical personnel were
reportedly killed), but also as a result of the lack of access to medical facilities. Health
professionals pointed out that the precarious security conditions made it difficult for staff
and patients alike to reach hospitals and clinics. Access was reportedly severely limited to
an estimated 60 per cent of primary health centres, while some 30 per cent of medical
personnel had no regular access to their workplaces. Palestinian doctors also explained to
the Special Rapporteur that treating patients with pre-existing health conditions had been
complicated by the loss of patient records, destroyed following airstrikes on medical
facilities.
28.
Around 600 patients were reportedly referred for treatment outside of Gaza,
including in hospitals in the West Bank, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey and Germany, given the
lack of medical equipment and specialised doctors available in Gaza. In September 2014,
many of these patients from Gaza were still being treated abroad, separated from their
families in a foreign environment in need of continuous monitoring following surgical
19
20
Decisions of the IDF Military Advocate General regarding Exceptional Incidents that Occurred
during Operation 'Protective Edge' – Update No. 2, 7 December 2014
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Gaza Crisis Appeal, September 2014 Update
(available from www.ochaopt.org/documents/gaza_crisis_appeal_9_september.pdf), p. 8.
9
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents