Palestine calls for probe as Israel crushes tents, displaced Gazans
A damaged car sits on rubble following an Israeli raid at Kamal Adwan hospital in the northern Gaza Strip, Palestine, Dec. 16, 2023. (Reuters Photo)


The Palestinian authorities have demanded an investigation following reports of Israeli army crushing tents along with several displaced Gazans on the courtyard of Kamal Adwan hospital.

"Information and testimonies from citizens, medical crews, and media indicate that the occupation buried living civilians in the Kamal Adwan Hospital courtyard," Palestinian Health Minister Mai al-Kaila said Saturday.

"The world should take serious action to uncover the details of this file and not tolerate or remain silent about the information coming from the Gaza Strip," said al-Kaila as she urged an international inquiry into the reports.

Al-Kaila explained that "the Israeli occupation deliberately expelled the wounded from Kamal Adwan Hospital into the open air in extremely cold weather and attacked medical personnel, posing a serious threat to the lives of the wounded and patients."

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry also demanded an "immediate international investigation into preliminary reports of the occupation committing heinous and horrifying crimes in the courtyard of Kamal Adwan Hospital."

Palestinians inspect damages following an Israeli raid at Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gaza Strip, Palestine, Dec. 16, 2023. (Reuters Photo)

Director-General of the Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip, Munir al-Bursh, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that "the Israeli occupation committed a humanitarian catastrophe, turning Kamal Adwan Hospital into a military barracks and deliberately humiliating medical staff and the wounded."

Palestinian journalist Anas al-Sharif wrote on X after visiting the hospital following the withdrawal of Israeli forces, that "what the Israeli occupation did inside Kamal Adwan Hospital is a heinous crime against the residents and medical staff."

Earlier Saturday, Israeli forces bulldozed several tents of internally displaced Palestinians outside the hospital, crushing people alive, reported Al Jazeera Arabic.

Video footage from the network showed mangled tents, which were sheltering hundreds of Gazans, and belongings following the incident.

U.K.-based Middle East Eye reported that the Euro-Med Monitor also called for an independent investigation into the incident.

According to the monitor, some of the displaced Palestinians were "buried and crushed alive" as per testimonies from medics in Gaza present at the scene who confirmed that Israeli forces buried and crushed Palestinians before withdrawing.