UN condemns Israel for destroying Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital in Gaza
Search and rescue operations are underway amidst the rubble of the collapsed structure after an airstrike on a building belonging to the Qraiqea family in the Shujaiya neighborhood, east of Gaza City, Gaza on March 18, 2025. (AA Photo)
The United Nations on Friday condemned Israel’s destruction of the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital in Gaza, which was built by Türkiye and operated by local authorities as a cancer treatment center.
Responding to a question from Turkish news agency Anadolu Agency, U.N. spokesperson Farhan Haq said during a news conference, “We certainly are against any of the attacks on medical infrastructure.”
Haq added, “All attacks against medical infrastructure by any of the parties is a violation of international humanitarian law, and we stand opposed to this.”
He also cited previous Israeli strikes on hospitals in Gaza, calling them potential war crimes and emphasizing the “intolerable situation for the suffering population.”
Since the Israeli military’s offensive on Gaza began on Oct. 7, 2023, Israel has systematically targeted the enclave’s health care system—bombing and besieging hospitals, ordering evacuations, and blocking medical supplies, particularly in northern Gaza.
Death toll rises
More than 700 Palestinians have been killed, and over 900 injured in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza since Tuesday, shattering a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement in place since January.
Nearly 50,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed and more than 112,000 injured in Israel’s military assault on Gaza since October 2023.
In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, charging them with war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Israel is also facing a genocide case at the International Court of Justice over its military campaign in the enclave.
