Israel Bombs the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City; Al Mezan Condemns International Silence and Demands Accountability

Gaza, 14 April 2025 – In yet another alarming escalation of Israeli attacks on Gaza’s healthcare system, Israeli forces deliberately struck Al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital (also known as Al-Ma’madani Hospital) in Gaza City after issuing an unfeasible evacuation warning.

According to field reports, at approximately 01:30 a.m. on Sunday, 13 April 2025, a citizen at Al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital received a phone call from an individual identifying himself as an officer in the Israeli military. The caller instructed him to inform everyone present at the hospital to evacuate immediately in advance of an imminent airstrike. The warning caused panic and fear among patients and medical staff, who swiftly evacuated the facility.

Around 30 minutes later, Israeli warplanes launched two missiles at the hospital, completely destroying the laboratory, pharmacy, and emergency department. The hospital’s church and other sections also sustained severe damage. The attack resulted in the death of 13-year-old Hatem Taha Ghazi Al-Nabih, who had lost access to critical medical care during the evacuation. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, this attack completely disabled the hospital and destroyed its CT scanning and radiology services, which were the only such services available in all of Gaza City.

The Al-Ahli Hospital is one of Gaza’s oldest medical institutions, established in 1882. Affiliated with the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem, it has long served as a vital healthcare provider for Gaza’s population.

Al Mezan strongly condemns the attack on the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City and stresses that Israel’s deliberate targeting of medical facilities and staff is part of a systematic strategy to inflict maximum civilian harm and eliminate any possibility of healthcare delivery to the injured and sick. Even in cases where allegations have been made about the misuse of medical facilities, investigations – such as those concerning Al-Shifa Hospital and other UN and international institutions – have found no justification for such attacks. Israel’s ongoing assault on protected medical and civilian infrastructure constitutes a clear breach of international law, on an extraordinary scale, suggesting that no red lines remain.

Al Mezan reiterates its call on the international community to break its silence and take immediate, decisive action to end the genocide in Gaza that has been perpetrated for over a year and a half. States must fulfill their legal obligations to stop the targeting of hospitals, ambulances, and medical personnel. They must also ensure the immediate release of arbitrarily detained medical staff and facilitate the entry of international volunteer medical teams, including surgeons in various specialties, into Gaza. Additionally, the international community must provide Gaza’s hospitals with essential equipment and supplies, particularly diagnostic and imaging tools, as well as endoscopy devices, all of which have been destroyed by Israeli forces, leaving healthcare providers unable to properly diagnose or treat patients.

Al Mezan further calls on the international community, as well as the States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, to take measures to prosecute all those found to be involved in the crime of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, including members and senior officers of the armed forces, and political leaders.