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<h1 class="article-title">19 Medics Killed, 17 Hospitals Bombed by
Israeli Forces Since July 8th</h1>
<div class="article-subtitledetails">
<span class="article-details">
<span class="article-detail"><img class="icon"
src="cid:part1.08080803.01020701@freedomarchives.org"
alt="author"> Sunday August 03, 2014 12:25</span><span
class="article-detail"><img class="icon"
src="cid:part2.01040306.01000704@freedomarchives.org"
alt="author"> by Celine Hagbard -
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.imemc.org/article/68733">http://www.imemc.org/article/68733</a></span></span><a
href="http://www.imemc.org/report_posts?subject=Report%20post:%20Story%2068733%20with%20title:%2019%20Medics%20Killed,%2017%20Hospitals%20Bombed%20by%20Israeli%20Forces%20Since%20July%208th&message=Report%20post:%20Story%2068733%20with%20title:%2019%20Medics%20Killed,%2017%20Hospitals%20Bombed%20by%20Israeli%20Forces%20Since%20July%208th%0Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.imemc.org%2Findex.php%3Fobj_id%3D53%26story_id%3D68733%26%0A%0AEnter+your+reason+here+-+please+do+not+remove+the+above+link+as+it+will+allow+an+editor+to+easily+remove+the+offending+content"></a></div>
<blockquote class="article-intro">Since the Israeli military began
its assault on the Gaza Strip on July 8th, Israeli forces have
repeatedly targeted medics and medical centers who have been
working feverishly to treat the over 9,000 people who have been
wounded.</blockquote>
Since July 8th, Medics and Rescue Teams have been attacked by
Israeli airstrikes and artillery shelling 102 times. 19 medics have
been killed, and many more have been injured.<br>
<br>
In addition, 44 Of Gaza's 55 Urgent Care Centers have been closed
Due To Israeli Bombardment. 17 Hospitals, both public and private,
have been directly targeted by the Israeli military.<br>
<br>
The Palestinian Ministry of Health has condemned the repeated
attacks on medical workers and facilities, which are supposed to be
excluded from any attacks during wartime under international law.<br>
<br>
Attacks on medical facilities are considered to be a ‘grave breach’
of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which means it is considered a war
crime. Another ‘grave breach’ is extensive destruction and
appropriation of property not justified by military necessity and
carried out unlawfully and wantonly.<br>
<br>
Israel is a signatory to the Fourth Geneva Convention, since 1957,
but claims that this does not apply to Israel’s behavior in the
territories it took over in 1967 and has been militarily occupying
ever since.<br>
<br>
The Israeli military spokesman has repeated over and over again the
claim that Palestinian resistance fighters use hospitals to store
and fire rockets, but has presented no credible evidence to back
this claim.<br>
<br>
The one piece of ‘evidence’ presented by the Israeli military
involved the Al-Wafa Hospital in eastern Gaza, and <a
href="http://imemc.org/article/68593" target="_blank">it was
proven</a> to be a fabrication.<br>
<br>
After bombing the al-Wafa Hospital, Gaza’s only rehabilitation
center, to the ground, the Israeli military released a short video
claiming to show the hospital being used by fighters. But the
satellite video purporting to show rockets fired from the hospital
grounds turned out, upon examination, to not show the hospital at
all. An arrow added by the Israeli military before releasing the
video pointed at a building next to a rocket-launching site. The
building was labeled ‘Wafa Hospital’. But the building in the video
was NOT Al-Wafa Hospital, but a building in an entirely different
part of town.<br>
<br>
But even while mis-identifying the hospital building on its
satellite image presented to the media, the Israeli military
obviously know where the ACTUAL hospital was located, because its
bombs were dropped directly onto the hospital, leveling it to the
ground.<br>
<br>
The numerous attacks on medical facilities and ambulances have made
it extremely difficult for medical personnel in Gaza to carry out
their work. In addition, the bombing of Gaza’s only power plant on
Monday by Israeli forces has forced the medical facilities to turn
to backup power sources, which are intermittent and sparse. This has
made it more and more difficult to maintain life support for the
hundreds of patients that remain in critical condition from their
wounds.
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