Hospital attacks could constitute war crimes

After a series of Israeli attacks on hospitals in the Gaza Strip, the United Nations Security Council met on Friday morning in New York at Algeria's request to debate the collapse of health services in Gaza.

Israel's military operations in the Gaza Strip have had a devastating impact on the hospitals in the Palestinian enclave, and 53 percent of the hospitals in Gaza are no longer operational and several physicians have died in Israeli custody, those attending the meeting were told.

As UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said at Friday's meeting, while recognizing Israel's right to self-defense and the shock that Israeli society has been through following the deaths of 1,200 citizens and the captivity of 100 hostages for 14 months, "The destruction of the healthcare system, in combination with the killing of patients, humanitarian workers, medical staff and other civilians, constitute severe violations of international humanitarian and human rights law".

Fu Cong, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, strongly condemned the recent Israeli attack on Kamal Adwan Hospital, the only remaining comprehensive medical service institution in northern Gaza, and urged Israel to effectively abide by its international humanitarian law obligations.

He said that it should "stop turning hospitals into battlefields", which is part of its "systematic strategy to make Gaza uninhabitable".

The conflict in Gaza has lasted for more than a year since Oct 7, 2023, when Hamas launched its surprise attack on Israel, and a ceasefire is imperative as Israel's brutal military response has left civilians "with nowhere safe to go", as Tom Fletcher, UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, said at the end of last month after his visit to the occupied Palestinian territories.

In Friday's meeting, Turk called for the immediate opening of crossings for the unhindered distribution of aid into Gaza and the assurance that shelters for the displaced remain safe havens rather than "death traps".

The continued violence is a vicious circle that will not produce lasting peace and security for either side, but instead only deepen the enmity between the two peoples. Which will in turn make it harder for the two sides to reach a deal for lasting peace.

There was once a ray of hope for the end of the enmity between the two peoples when then Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and then Palestinian Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat shook hands 30 years ago. Leaders of both sides at the time realized how important it was for both to recognize the legitimate right of the other to exist as a country.

Despite the failure of the peace deal for various reasons, both parties accepting the existence of the other as a sovereign entity remains the sole solution to the decades-long conflict.

That explains why China has been consistent in supporting the two-state solution. Beijing knows well that there will never be lasting peace in the Palestine region unless the Palestinians have their own country, which would be able to maintain neighborly ties with Israel. It is also clear that Israel can never expect conflict-free dealings with the Palestinian people unless it allows the latter to exist as a sovereign entity.

It is really very difficult and complicated for both sides to remove their entrenched enmity before they can reach a deal. But it is essential for key figures on both sides to know that there is no other option for peaceful coexistence between the two sides.

As far as the current crisis in Gaza is concerned, both sides should continue talks to secure the release of all hostages still being held by Hamas and the end of military attacks by Israeli forces in Gaza and allow the Palestinian people access to humanitarian aid.