Palestinian Red Crescent denounces Israel’s targeting of Al-Amal Hospital, calls for urgent protection

GAZA: The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) condemned today's Israeli occupation bombing near the Society's Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Yunis in the south of the Gaza Strip, which led to the death of 10 people and the injury of at least 21 others, which comes after the occupation army yesterday bombed in front of the hospital, which led to the death of 31 people and the injury of 25 others, the majority of them are displaced people taking shelter in the PRCS headquarters and the hospital, which houses about 14,000 displaced persons who took refuge in it as a safe haven after they were forced to leave their homes as a result of the continued Israeli bombing. PRCS expressed in a statement today its deep concern for the safety of its staff working in the hospital and the Society's headquarters, especially since today's targeting is considered the fifth on the hospital and its surroundings in less than a week. The day before yesterday, the occupation forces targeted the upper floors of the Society's headquarter s with artillery shelling, which led to several injuries among the displaced persons and the destruction of its VHF antenna considered the only means of communication in light of the communications outage, which poses a major challenge for ambulance and emergency crews in reaching the wounded and sick. A few days ago, a drone shot a 13-year-old displaced child while he was inside the building, leading to his death. 'The occupation's intensification of targeting the vicinity of Al-Amal Hospital during the past days may be considered a prelude to targeting it directly, and we fear it will face what happened to Al-Quds Hospital affiliated with the PRCS in Gaza City, which became out of service as a result of the targeting, the siege, and the prevention of humanitarian and medical supplies,' PRCS said in its statement. It appealed to the international community and partners in the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement to intervene immediately and urgently to protect Al-Amal Hospital and to protect i ts medical staff, the wounded, the sick, and about 14,000 displaced persons, in accordance with international humanitarian law and the Fourth Geneva Convention. Source: Palestine News and Information Agency – WAFA