By Anjali Sharma
UNITED NATIONS – UN Security Council met on Friday in New York to debate the collapse of health services in Gaza.
The meeting was called by Algeria, the leading voice for the Arab world on the Council as UNSC president for the month of January.
WHO Sr. official Dr. Rik Peeperkorn briefed ambassadors alongside High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk.
The newly elected non perm members Denmark, Greece, Pakistan, Panama and Somalia also spoke on the issue that has caused so much stalemate and division since the October 7 attacks.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, told the Council via videolink that “a human rights catastrophe continues to unfold in Gaza before the eyes of the world.”
OHCHR published a report that documents pattern of attacks on hospitals, as well as the killing of patients, staff and other civilians.
He said the attacks begin with Israeli airstrikes, followed by ground raids, the detention of some patients and staff, forced removals and the withdrawal of troops – leaving the hospital essentially non-functional.
Hamas and other armed groups continue to launch sporadic and indiscriminate attacks on Israel, and reportedly to expose civilians and civilian infrastructure including health facilities to attack, by operating amongst them, which is totally unacceptable, he said.
“The protection of hospitals during warfare is paramount and must be respected by all sides, at all times,” he stressed.
Mr. Türk said the destruction of hospitals across Gaza goes beyond depriving Palestinians of their right to access adequate healthcare. These facilities also provide sanctuary for people with nowhere else to run.
He said the destruction of the Kamal Adwan hospital last Friday – the last functioning hospital in North Gaza – reflects the patten of documented attacks.
“Some staff and patients were forced from the hospital while others, including the General Director, were detained, with many reports of torture and ill treatment,” he said
He reported that across Gaza, Israeli military operations in an around hospitals have had a terrible impact precisely at a time of massive demand for healthcare.
“They have been particularly devastating for certain Palestinian civilians. Six babies have reportedly died of hypothermia in the past few days alone,” he said.
Algerian Ambassador and the president of the Council Amar Benjama called out the “clear and alarming objective” of “pushing the Palestinian population out of their land through an obvious and deliberate policy of ethnic cleansing.”
“Figures speak volumes,” he noted, describing the “systematic demolition of the healthcare system,” with 53 per cent of hospitals in Gaza no longer operational and several physicians dying in Israeli custody.
“Security Council resolutions feel increasingly futile,” Mr. Benjama emphasised, as “the occupying power of the Occupied Palestinian Territory acts as though international law does not exist or simply does not apply to it.”
“We must end this impunity, we must end this immunity,” he said, calling for “full accountability for violations of international humanitarian and human right law” in Gaza.
Mr. Benjama concluded his statement by urging the Security Council to take decisive action and demand a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
Deputy Permanent Representative of the United States to the UN, Dorothy Shea, said that throughout the conflict, Hamas has repeatedly misused civilian infrastructure such as schools and hospitals to store weapons caches, house fighters and coordinate attacks against Israel.
She said that the group also continues to put civilians in harm’s way through their tactics and use of these facilities.
“I urge colleagues in this room to criticize Hamas for these actions and call them out for continuing to put Palestinian civilians in Gaza in the crosshairs,” she said, adding that “far too many still cannot bring themselves to do so.”
She stressed that “Israel’s fight is with Hamas and not the Palestinian civilians the terrorist group falsely purports to represent.”
Ms. Shea said that according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), over 240 fighters were apprehended at the Kamal Adwan Hospital in North Gaza, including 15 individuals who participated in the 7 October massacre.
“Even as it battles Hamas, Israel has a moral imperative to prevent civilian harm,” she said.
“We don’t want to see hospitals as scenes of violence. No one benefits, least of all the civilians who neither started this conflict nor have the means to end it, and desperately need medical attention.”
Riyad Mansour, the Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine, condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza, described them as “blatant war crimes” and “genocide.”
He shared a powerful account of Palestinian medical personnel’s courage under fire, stating, “Palestinian doctors and medical personnel are fighting to save human lives and losing their own.”
Mr. Mansour described the horrific reality they face, emphasized that “we owe them more than remembrance.”
He said that “the international community was not able to match even part of their courage and their dedication to humanity.”
Mr. Mansour expressed the Palestinian people’s sense of abandonment, highlighting their courage and resilience in the face of overwhelming odds. “We have a duty to save lives. This Council has an obligation to save lives,” he concluded
.Israel’s Deputy Permanent Ambassador to the UN Brett Johnathan Miller also addressed the Council members.
He said that while hospitals are meant to be sanctuaries of care and compassion, “Hamas has transformed them into tools for terror, exploiting their sanctity to shield its murderous aims and wage war against civilians,”.
“This is not an isolated tactic or an act of desperation,” he continued. “This is a deliberate and systematic strategy – a cornerstone of Hamas’s operational doctrine, their modus operandi.”
Mr. Miller addressed the situation at Kamal Adwan Hospital in North Gaza, where Hamas “turned a facility for healing into a command center for terror.”
He said that since October 2024, following an operation by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in the area, Hamas “entrenched itself in the hospital, embedding its military infrastructure and operational hubs within its walls.”
The recent IDF operation there resulted in over 240 terrorists apprehended, including 15 who participated in the 7 October 2023 massacre in Israel.
He added that the hospital’s director was among those apprehended as he is suspected of being a Hamas operative and is currently under investigation by the Israeli security forces.
“Colleagues, this operation was not a choice. It was a necessity,” said Mr. Miller. “It was conducted based on extensive intelligence gathered over months confirming Hamas’s activities on hospital premises.”
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