ISTANBUL

The Israeli army targeted another hospital in the Gaza Strip, disrupting medical services, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

“The Israeli army shelled Al-Helou Hospital in Gaza City with two missiles, making the entry to or exit from the hospital impossible,” the director of the Health Ministry Media Office, Ismail Al-Thawabta, told Anadolu on Sunday.

“Doctors and patients inside the hospital are living in a state of terror and severe fear, which has been worsened by the occupation’s deliberate cutoff of the hospital’s internet network to isolate it from the outside world and suspend medical services for civilians,” Thawabta said.

The official stressed that such actions by Israel constitute “crimes against humanity," and a "full-fledged war crime was added to the (Israeli) occupation’s black record.”

At least 38 Gaza hospitals were destroyed or rendered out of service, 96 healthcare centers were targeted, and 197 ambulances were destroyed or damaged by the Israeli army since the start of its genocidal war in October 2023, according to Health Ministry data.

“The (Israeli) occupation also carried out 788 direct attacks on healthcare facilities, staff, and supply chains, and killed 1,670 medical workers while carrying out their humanitarian duty,” the director added.

He pointed out: “These documented figures are not just statistics, but clear evidence of the occupation’s policy of targeting the Palestinian people’s lives, health, and dignity.”

“These crimes will not be forgotten over time,” the official said, as he held Israel and the US fully responsible.

He called on the international community to assume its legal and moral responsibilities to stop this ongoing crime and protect civilians and the healthcare system in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli army has killed over 66,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza since October 2023. The relentless bombardment has rendered the enclave uninhabitable and led to starvation and the spread of diseases.