Claiming, as usual, that Hamas operatives had been using the premises of Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza to hold meetings, Israel destroyed the hospital’s intensive care and surgery departments. A short time before, the occupation army have noticed that it would bomb the site, forcing hospital staff to rush patients out of their beds in the small hours.
One child, who had previously suffered a head injury, died as a result of the evacuation process, according to a statement from the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, part of the Anglican Church, which runs the hospital.
The surrounding buildings, including St Philip’s church, were also damaged, the diocese said. It added that it was “appalled” at the bombing of the hospital on the morning of Palm Sunday and beginning of the Holy Week. The Gaza health authorities declared the entire hospital non-functional following the Israeli attack that the world watched live on air.
It had already been mission impossible for the hospital’s doctors to serve the flood of injured Palestinians since 18 March, when Israel shuttered the ceasefire deal it had agreed to on 17 January, confirming that the current extremist government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has no intention to end the war or pull out its occupation troops from Gaza.
Amid the total closure of all Gaza borders and a tight siege, for nearly two months Israel has been preventing the entry of all sorts of aid, including vital medical supplies and equipment, blocking the inflow of fuel and electricity. Yet the brave Palestinian doctors continued to work miracles and around the clock to attempt to save the lives of innocent civilians, mostly children and women.
Worse than the brazen attack on a hospital in clear violation of international humanitarian laws and conventions, however, is the fact that this behaviour has become the norm on a nearly daily basis. Only a few days before, a similar air strike on a residential building in the Shejaeya neighbourhood in Gaza mercilessly killed 35 people. And before that Israeli air strikes killed journalists and refugees in shelters and schools, burning humans alive, decapitating children, and crushing bones under the rubble.
The average number of Palestinians killed in Israeli air strikes since the resumption of Israel’s genocide war exceeds 50 people per day, and they are mostly children and women. This insane statistic represents a form of barbarity the world has not seen since World War II. There must be a way to stop Israel from carrying out those crimes, and our role cannot be just to report one atrocity after another.
While the world has been in a state of near total chaos since US President Donald Trump took office on 20 January, whether because of bizarre proposals to settle conflicts or trade wars, Israel’s war crimes in Gaza have not gone unnoticed, even if official bodies where countries are supposed to seek justice are in a state of paralysis due to US influence and pressure.
The UN Security Council is practically dysfunctional due to the US veto power protecting Israel. Historic rulings issued by both the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court condemning Israel’s actions and issuing arrest warrants against its top leaders have been shelved, and the new administration in Washington has threatened sanctions against judges and prosecutors for daring to tell the truth about Israel’s crimes.
Nevertheless, despite the hostile attitude of the Trump administration towards pro-Palestinian protests and decisions to deport student activists, huge demonstrations were held in nearly all major US cities demanding an end to this criminal war. Similar protests were held in European and Arab capitals where hundreds of thousands took part. Thousands of Israeli reservists too have signed petitions demanding an immediate end to the war, insisting they would not sacrifice their lives to serve the personal interests of Israel’s naked emperor, Bibi, and his extremist coalition.
After his successful visit to Egypt last week, French President Emmanuel Macron renewed an earlier, unfulfilled pledge to recognise the State of Palestine along with brave European nations such as Ireland, Spain and Norway. This is slated to happen in June, while hosting a conference aimed at mobilising support for a permanent settlement and ending Israel’s occupation of Palestine. Macron’s statements resulted in outlandish attacks against the French president by Netanyahu and his son, who went as far as using profane language. Yet this was an important sign that the world will not remain silent while Israel mass murders Palestinians with impunity.
On Monday, Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s top diplomat, said that while she recongised Israel had the right to defend itself, “its current actions go beyond proportionate self-defence.” Kallas also announced that Europe was stepping up its support for the Palestinians, with a plan to provide $1.8 billion until 2027 to help stabilise the West Bank and Gaza.
The positive developments in Europe’s stands and European rejection of Israel’s intentional disregard for Palestinian lives are in line with Egypt’s popular and official positions. Egypt has not only been working intensely with Qatar and the United States to reach a new ceasefire deal, but it has also been closely coordinating with key European partners to ensure that the end of the war will be followed by a comprehensive peace process resulting in the creation of an independent Palestinian State.
Meanwhile, Israel’s crimes will never be forgotten, and whenever the war ends Israel will suffer for many years to come as a pariah state whose political and military leaders will need to stay confined to their homes in order not to face arrest.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 17 April, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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