High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell and European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarcic denounced the Israeli occupation's attacks on medical and civilian infrastructure in Gaza and the West Bank.
The EU is concerned about the continuous attacks on healthcare in the West Bank, where over 50 health facilities and 300 ambulances have been deliberately damaged in the past months, they said in a statement.
The statement said 31 out of 36 hospitals have been damaged or destroyed in the Gaza Strip since the start of the Israeli aggression in Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023. Among the destroyed hospitals is the Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest medical complex in Gaza, which remains today completely out of service, the statement added.
"The remaining hospitals in Gaza are partially functioning, and operating under severe limitations. Due to the dire situation many of them are on the verge of collapse or had to be closed. Access to emergency medical care is even more crucial at a time when Palestinians in Gaza live under constant shelling and more than 9,000 severely injured people are at risk of dying due to the lack of adequate health care," Borrell and Lenarcic said.
Since Oct. 7, the World Health Organization (WHO) has recorded a total of 890 attacks on health facilities, with 443 occurring in Gaza and 447 in the West Bank, they said, stressing that attacks against health-care workers, hospitals and ambulances must end.
The Israeli occupation has continued its aggression against the Gaza Strip by land, sea, and air since Oct. 7, 2023, resulting in the martyrdom of 35,562 citizens, the majority of whom are children and women, and the injury of 79,652 others. This is a preliminary toll, as thousands of victims remain under the rubble.
