In a week which saw a ceasefire proposal put forward by Hamas and rejected by Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying “total victory” in Gaza is possible within months, the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) said that more than 350 attacks on healthcare have taken place in the enclave since hostilities erupted.

This included reports that  a nurse was shot and critically injured while inside an operating theatre at a hospital in Khan Younis.

People in Orkney campaigning for an immediate ceasefire and an ending to the relentless killing of civilians, will again meet on the steps of St Magnus Cathedral on Saturday, 10th of February between 1 and 2pm.

The islanders have attended the vigils despite some of the winter’s worst weather but are determined to continue until there is an immediate ceasefire.

 WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic, said on Friday that Israeli attacks on those treating the wounded and dying “have affected 98 healthcare facilities, including 27 hospitals damaged out of 36, and affected 90 ambulances, including 50 which sustained damage”

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PCRS), said that Nasser Hospital and Al Amal Hospital were under siege for 17 days and had continued to be particularly badly affected by the violence which “is driving thousands of people” from the city further south to Rafah.

There are also reports of snipers shooting in the vicinity of Nasser Hospital and allegations that the Israeli military had prevented the movement of ambulances and access to the facility. 

“On 8 February, a nurse was reportedly shot and critically injured while inside the operations room in Nasser Hospital and two Palestinians were reportedly shot and killed in the vicinity,” the OCHA update said.

“On 7 February, a Palestinian woman was reportedly shot and killed while purportedly fetching water from Nasser Hospital.”

The appalling violence is not limited to Gaza and there are a growing number of attacks on healthcare in the occupied West Bank since the Gaza-Israel war erupted on 7 October.

364 attacks on healthcare have happened in the West Bank, resulting in 10 fatalities and 62 injuries. 44 health facilities had been affected, including 15 mobile clinics and 24 ambulances. 

The latest toll from the fighting in Gaza is at least 27,840 fatalities with more than 67,300 injured, according to the local health authority. As of 8th February, 225 Israeli soldiers have been killed with 1,314 injured in Gaza since the beginning of the ground operation, according to the Israeli military.

The UN human rights office, OHCHR, insisted that any reported attempt by Israel to create a “buffer zone” with Gaza could constitute a war crime.

“Article 53 of the Geneva Convention prohibits destruction by the occupying power of property belonging to private persons, except where such destruction is rendered absolutely necessary by military operations,” said OHCHR spokesperson Marta Hurtado. 

“Destruction carried out to create a buffer zone for general security purposes do not appear consistent with the …military operations.”

You can watch the latest film by Mike Robertson of the Ceasefire Vigils being held in Orkney

Fiona Grahame