The spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry has condemned Israel’s attack on al-Shifa Hospital as a “clear example” of war crimes the regime has committed over the course of its bombardment and ground invasion of the Gaza Strip.
“This morning’s brutal attack on the al-Shifa hospital by the Zionist forces is a clear example of war crimes and must be prosecuted internationally,” Nasser Kana’ani wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
The regime raided al-Shifa Hospital, the largest medical complex in the besieged strip where thousands of patients, staff, and displaced people were trapped, destroying parts of it and also attacking medical and nursing staff as well as patients.
The regime has been targeting hospitals in the strip since the beginning of its war on Gaza on October 7, claiming Hamas uses them as command centers.
Kana’ani denounced Israel’s claims as false and said they serve as a pretext for continuing war crimes in Gaza.
“The Zionist regime’s army has suffered such a blow as a result of the October 7 defeat that it is trying to create an achievement for itself by spreading false narratives,” he said.
Pointing to Israel’s allegations that the hospital was being used for military purposes by Hamas, the Iranian official said Israel’s move to fabricate claims and portray a false image of the activities of the resistance act as “a cover and pretext for the continuation of the Zionist regime’s crimes in Gaza and the killing of children and homeless women.”
Hamas has dismissed Israel’s claim it uses hospitals as command centers, saying it runs a vast network of underground tunnels and doesn’t need to use hospitals in any manner.
Osama Hamdan, a senior Hamas official based in Beirut, on Tuesday called Israeli claims “naive” attempts to justify bombardment of hospitals.
Hamdan, who’s a member of Hamas politburo, said Israel is continuously targeting Gaza’s infrastructure and hospitals to push Gazans out of the strip and to repeat Nakba, referring to the mass expulsion of Palestinians from their homeland in 1948 and the creation of the Israeli regime.
The Hamas official called on the UN to run a probe into the claims and debunk the lies of the occupation.
The Israeli attack has drawn condemnation from Palestinians, international aid organizations, and various governments.
The UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths has described the Israeli attacks on hospitals as shocking, calling for immediate action to rein in the carnage in Gaza.
“Hospitals are not battlegrounds,” the UN’s undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, Martin Griffiths, stated on X.
“The protection of newborns, patients, medical staff, and all civilians must override all other concerns,” he said.
Reports of military incursion into Al-Shifa hospital are deeply concerning.
We’ve lost touch again with health personnel at the hospital.
We’re extremely worried for their and their patients’ safety.
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) November 15, 2023
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization, also said that the attacks are “deeply concerning.”
“We’ve lost touch again with health personnel at the hospital,” Tedros said on X, adding, “We’re extremely worried for their and their patients’ safety.”
The International Committee of the Red Cross said in a statement that it was “extremely concerned about the impact on sick and wounded people, medical staff, and civilians.”
“All measures to avoid any consequences on them must be taken,” it said.
