GENEVA –The Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition (SHCC) has released a report documenting 33 incidents of violence against or obstruction of health care in Israel during 2023, resulting in the deaths of at least 22 health workers. On the morning of October 7, 2023, Hamas fighters, together with various other armed groups and armed individuals from Gaza, crossed into Israel and attacked “kibbutzim” communities and army bases along Israel’s southern border with the Gaza Strip. The attack lasted many hours and included the forced entry into homes, community buildings, and shelters and the deliberate killing of almost 1,200 women, children, and men, most of whom were civilians. The fighters kidnapped more than 240 people and took them as hostages into Gaza. The Supernova Sukkot Gathering in Re’im district (an open-air music festival) and Kibbutz Be’eri close to the festival’s location were most affected. In response to the attack, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched Operation Swords of Iron involving intense aerial bombing campaigns and ground operations in the Gaza Strip.
According to the Coalition, the majority of attacks on health care in Israel in 2023 involved health workers being shot at, with five reports of explosive weapons use in the South district, including a missile strike injuring an Indian nurse and rocket attacks damaging Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon three times. The killing of health workers included volunteer paramedics, a nurse, a Peruvian-Israeli doctor, and a Canadian medic. At least five health workers were kidnapped from three kibbutzim with some being released later under ceasefire agreements.
Persistent rocket fire from Gaza forced two medical centers in southern Israel to relocate some of their wards to more sheltered areas or underground complexes. This disruption affected health service delivery and increased the strain on the health care system. The October 07 attack led to a surge in cases of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety among Israelis. One in three Israelis reported PTSD symptoms, and there was a notable increase in soldiers and reservists seeking mental health support from the IDF. Despite the violence, some health workers and organizations, such as Road to Recovery, continue to aid those in need. This organization, known for transporting Palestinians needing medical care to Israeli hospitals, lost volunteers during the October attacks but remains committed to their mission. Donations to the charity group have also reportedly slowed, with direct consequences for patients.
The data in this report is compiled from open sources and partner-agency contributions of information, date, time, and location of incidents of violence and obstruction of health care in 2023 and is based on the WHO definition of attacks on health care. Due to this methodology, there are some differences between SHCC’s numbers and other reports. Explore the incidents visually on this interactive global map.
Among the report’s recommendations are:
- The International Criminal Court and national courts, through principles of universal jurisdiction, should, at long last, initiate prosecutions for war crimes and crimes against humanity involving attacks on the wounded and sick and on health facilities.
- Governments should cease arms transfers to parties to conflict that engage in grave breaches of international humanitarian law.
- Ministers of Health should engage with their own military and security forces and armed groups to protect health care from violence and strengthen mechanisms to mitigate the impacts of attacks on communities, health workers, and the health system.
- Regional bodies and the UN humanitarian cluster system should expand initiatives to protect health care in conflict and mitigate the impact of violence against it.
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MEDIA CONTACT: Tim Bishop
REPORT LINK: shcc.pub/ISR2023
PRESS RELEASE: shcc.pub/2023ISRPressRelease
In its 11th annual report, Critical Condition: Violence Against Health Care in Conflict, the coalition documented 2562 incidents in conflicts across 30 countries, or regions within countries, or territories in 2023, a 25% increase from 2022, representing 500 more attacks than documented last year, and the highest ever since the Coalition began reporting “Violence against health care reached appalling levels in 2023, said Leonard Rubenstein, Chair of the Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition (SHCC) comprising more than 40 nongovernmental organisations.“Whether a product of recklessness, indifference, or intentional targeting, fighting forces’ contempt for the law brought catastrophic harm to those in need of care and the health workers and systems intending to aid them. The world fails to ensure accountability for this violence at its peril.”