A CHILD died as a result of the “rushed evacuation process” that preceded Israel’s bombing of the Anglican-run Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza on Palm Sunday.
The diocese of Jerusalem issued a statement the same day, condemning the twin missile strikes “in the strongest terms”. It said that, 20 minutes before the attack, the Israeli army had ordered everyone to evacuate the premises immediately, and that one child, who had previously suffered a head injury, “tragically died as a result of the rushed evacuation process”. There were no other reported deaths or injuries.
On Monday, the House of Bishops issued a statement that spoke of marking Palm Sunday while “sharing in the grief, sorrow and outrage of our Palestinian brothers and sisters at the Israeli Government’s attack on the Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza”. The staff at the hospital — which several bishops had visited — had “heroically cared for patients in the most unbearable conditions for over 18 months”. The House was “especially grieved that this attack on the only Christian hospital in Gaza — the fifth such attack since October 2023 — should occur on Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week, and during the Jewish festival of Passover.
“There is no justification under international humanitarian law for targeting hospitals, healthcare infrastructure and medical personnel. Hospital staff must be protected at all times so the wounded and sick can be freely treated.”
In an online statement issued on Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces said that they had “dismantled” a “Hamas command and control centre inside Al-Ahli hospital. The compound was used by Hamas terrorists to plan and execute terror attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops. Despite the IDF repeatedly stating that military activity within medical facilities in Gaza must stop, Hamas continues to blatantly violate international law and abuse the civilian population. Prior to the strike, steps were taken to mitigate harm to civilians or to the hospital compound, including issuing advanced warnings in the area of the terror infrastructure, the use of precise munitions, and aerial surveillance.”
The House of Bishops’ statement said that the Israeli government had “yet to provide clear and compelling evidence to substantiate” this claim. “Against that backdrop, we call for an independent, thorough and transparent investigation into this attack as well as the alleged misuse of the hospital.
“The extremely limited time given to staff and patients to evacuate the hospital was a further assault on fundamental human rights and basic human dignity.”
On Sunday evening, the director-general of the World Health Organization, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, said that the hospital’s medical director had reported that the emergency room, laboratory, emergency-room X-ray machines, and pharmacy had all been “destroyed” in the strikes. The hospital had been forced to move 50 patients to other hospitals, while 40 “critical” patients could not be moved. The hospital was “unable to receive new patients pending repairs”.
Al-Ahli Hospital is one of the last fully functional hospitals in Gaza City. Last month, its medical director, Dr Maher Ayyad, said that its ICU was completely full (News, 21 March). Its outpatients clinic was seeing between 500 and 700 patients a day.
The hospital is a partner of Embrace the Middle East. On Tuesday, the charity’s CEO, Jamie Eyre, said: “In the face of such dark moments in the history of this long conflict, we cannot stay silent as medical and humanitarian institutions, of faith and not, are attacked and prevented from serving the most vulnerable. . .
“Leading up to one of the most significant festivities of the Christian faith, we call on all Churches, denominations and religious institutions to come together to stand with their Palestinian brothers and sisters in Gaza, as part of the body of Christ that is suffering, and stand with all who are affected by this conflict and facing loss, pain and injustice.”
He spoke of a duty to call on the British Government and the international community to “intervene with concrete actions to stop this conflict”, reiterating a call for the immediate suspension of arms sales to Israel. “The export of arms and provision of military aid to Israel merely fuels this conflict and diminishes the prospect of an end to this war.”
On Sunday, the Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, wrote online: “Al-Ahli Hospital has been attacked repeatedly since the conflict began. These deplorable attacks must end. Diplomacy not more bloodshed is how we will achieve a lasting peace.”
In January, the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) concluded that military action by Israeli forces had pushed the health-care system in Gaza “to the point of almost complete collapse” (News, 10 January).
No aid has entered Gaza since 2 March, when ceasefire negotiations broke down (News, 21 March). The WHO reported last week that essential medicines and trauma and medical supplies were “rapidly running out”: it listed supplies for Caesarean sections, anaesthesia for delivery and pain management, intravenous fluids, antibiotics, surgical sutures, and blood units needed for complicated deliveries. Partners reported that portable incubators, ventilators for neonatal intensive care, ultrasound machines, and oxygen pumps, along with 180,000 doses of routine childhood vaccines, had not been permitted to enter Gaza.
In a joint statement, UN heads warned last week that “the partially functional health system is overwhelmed. . . We are witnessing acts of war in Gaza that show an utter disregard for human life.”
The Archbishop of York said on Sunday: “The Anglican-run Ahli Hospital in Gaza is a place of healing and care for Palestinians living through unimaginable suffering. In unbearable conditions, its heroic doctors and nurses have cared for civilians who have endured 18 months of devastating violence.
“For the only Christian hospital in Gaza to be attacked on Palm Sunday is especially appalling. I share in the grief of our Palestinian brothers and sisters in the Diocese of Jerusalem. I pray for the staff and patients of the hospital, and for the family of the boy who tragically died during the evacuation.
“At the start of Holy Week, I join the cries of Christians around the world for an end to this violence — and for justice, security, dignity and peace for Palestinians and Israelis.”
A statement on Monday from the College of Bishops of the Scottish Episcopal Church warned: “The reducing of hospitals to rubble and the suffering of vulnerable people cannot bring about peace or justice for people of Palestine and Israel. It will only destroy hope and deepen hatred.”
The Anglican Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Michael Jackson, paid tribute to staff and patients at Al-Ahli: “I share their outrage, having experienced their selfless work and worshipped with them in their hospital chapel, at the destruction and desecration of the hospital”.
The House of Bishops called in Monday’s statement for a ceasefire, the release of all hostages unconditionally, and the delivery of aid. It also appealed to the British Government to “urge the Government of Israel to abide by its obligations under international humanitarian law. Such laws were created to protect human dignity during war. No State can place themselves above them.”
This story was updated on Tuesday 15 April
