Palestinian health chief asks UN to protect doctors in Gaza

Minister of Health Mai Alkaila sent an urgent letter to the United Nations office to be delivered to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, demanding the protection of medical staff in Palestine.

The letter included the testimonies of attacks carried out by the Israeli occupation against medical staff and hospitals, WAFA reports.

This came during a sit-in organized by the ministry and the Palestinian health sector today in front of the UN headquarters in Ramallah, to demand the protection of medical personnel in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

The Minister of Health said that 340 doctors and health workers were killed and 900 others were injured in the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip since October 7. At least 100 medical personnel remain in Israeli custody.

During the sit-in, participants carried banners condemning the Israeli occupation's attacks on medical personnel, demanding their protection and an end to the targeting of the health sector in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

The minister stressed during the sit-in that health workers are subjected to gross violations in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. She slammed the recent Israeli forces’ attack at the Ibn Sina Specialist Hospital in Jenin, which resulted in the killing of three Palestinians, as a grave violation.

She further slammed the cruel and unlawful Israeli practices as a clear violation of the provisions of international humanitarian law.

The Minister of Health stressed that the Israeli occupation’s violations against the health sector are on the rise despite the ruling of the International Court of Justice on the Israeli aggression on Gaza.

The minister demanded protection for the health sector, holding Israel accountable and to stop treating it as a state above the law.