Israel-Gaza conflict

摘要

The UN recently published a renewed guidance note on Security Council Resolution 1998, entitled Act to Protect, urging all parties to avoid targeting schools and hospitals.1 However, this call has appeared to go unheeded as Gaza's hospitals have sustained intense military bombardment, including the destruction of its only rehabilitation centre, as part of Israel's latest offensive in the occupied Palestinian territories. Paola Manduca and colleagues' open letter recently published in The Lancet, equates the scientific community's subdued condemnation to complicity in war crimes.Systematic military assaults on hospitals and staff have become commonplace in modern warfare.3 Since 2012, the International Committee of the Red Cross has documented about 2000 incidents across 23 different countries where medical facilities, personnel, and patients have been deliberately targeted.4 Syria's health system is the worst victim, with more than 150 attacks on 124 medical sites during the past 3 years.