DayofPal– Nurses, patients, and their companions at Kamal Adwan hospital recounted to the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor deeply disturbing accounts of sexual violence inflicted by Israeli occupation forces against them during Friday military raid into the Hospital in northern Gaza Strip.
Rami Abdu, director of Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, reveals that the testimonies included horrific details of degrading assaults, where soldiers forced women to strip naked under threats and humiliation at the Kamal Adwan Hospital and in front of Al-Farid Hall.
One testimony said that the Israeli soldiers separated men from women, put women in groups then threatened them, saying, “Take it off, or we will strip you by force.”
Another testimony revealed that a soldier forced a nurse to remove her pants and groped her. When she tried to stop him, he slapped her forcefully on the face, causing her nosebleed.
One of the victims described being dragged by a soldier across his chest as he told her, “Take it off now,” while using obscene language. Another woman said when she refused to remove her hijab, a soldier assaulted her by tearing her body cover, abaya, exposing part of her body.
Other young women suffered similar assaults, as soldiers grabbed their heads, tore at their hair violently near one of the hospital halls, and used degrading gestures and words.
Near one of the hospital halls, other young women faced equally harrowing attacks. Soldiers grabbed their heads with merciless force, yanking at their hair and subjecting them to demeaning words and gestures.
On Friday morning, Israeli occupation forces stormed Kamal Adwan Hospital, forcing patients, the injured, and medical staff to evacuate under gunfire, abducting others, including the hospital director, Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, and setting the majority of the hospital premises ablaze.
The assault on Kamal Adwan Hospital began at 2:30 a.m. with heavy artillery fire, drone strikes, and tank shelling.
“We thought it was just another night like before,” a female survivor of the attack said, adding “But as dawn broke, we realized it was much worse.”
A tank stormed the hospital compound at sunrise with the soldiers inside continued to demand Dr. Hussam Abu Safiyah evacuate everyone except the critically injured. Patients, staff, and displaced civilians fled the hospital under orders.
“The soldiers forced us onto Abu Al-Jidyan Street, following us with a tank,” the witness recounted. “They made us march until we reached Al-Farid Square, where they split us into men and women.”
The survivor added that the men were detained in two pits, while women were searched and some had their headscarves removed. “The soldiers beat us severely. It was unbearable,” the eyewitness added.
By morning, Israeli forces had burned sections of the hospital. Fires raged as patients and medical staff were forced out. The soldiers issued threats against Dr. Abu Safiya and conducted field interrogations at Fakhoura School before they ultimately abducted him.
Shortlink for this post: https://daysofpalestine.ps/?p=59681
