Jerusalem – While the world is mourning and rightly denouncing  the Russian attack against Kyiv’s Ohmatdyt Children’s Hospital, which treats paediatric cancer patients, another hospital has been forcibly closed following an act of war in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli army has imposed the evacuation of the al-Ahli Arab Hospital, known as “the hospital of sharing”, run by the Anglican Church.

The facility was the target of a very brutal attack at the start of the war, with huge loss of innocent lives.

Now the latest Israeli operation in Gaza City has sparked words of condemnation from Archbishop Justin Welby, Primate of All England, who said that “under international humanitarian law” hospitals and clinics “must be protected”.

The Archbishop of Canterbury issued a protest against “the closure and evacuation” of the facility “in the strongest possible terms”, as well as “the attack on an ambulance en route to the hospital.”

The hospital is located near the Sacred Family Latin parish whose school was recently struck.

Pope Francis also referred too events in Gaza, which is front page news all over the world.

“The Holy Father has learned with great sorrow the news about the attacks against two medical centres in Kyiv, including the largest children’s hospital in Ukraine, as well as against a school in Gaza,” reads a press release by the Holy See Press Office.

“The Pope expresses his deep shock at the escalation of violence. While expressing sympathy for the victims and the innocent wounded, he hopes and prays that practical pathways can soon be identified to put an end to the ongoing conflicts.”

Israel’s military operation in Gaza City led on Sunday to the order to close the al-Alhi Arab Hospital and the forced transfer of all patients, after the area was declared a red zone.

The decision came after a series of nearby drone attacks, the Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem said in a statement. The latter runs the medical facility.

“In the face of intense Israeli bombardment, this closure puts injured and sick people in even greater danger,” said Archbishop Welby.

“I join Archbishop Hosam’s appeal to the Israel Defence Forces to allow the hospital to continue its sacred and courageous work of caring for people in desperate need,” he added.

“To relieve the immense suffering in the Holy Land, I continue to pray and call for a ceasefire, the release of hostages, and for unfettered aid for the people of Gaza.”

The Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem also spoke out against the forced closure, concerned that the sick and injured are in “great jeopardy” now that the facility is “out of operation” at a time when demand is greatest, while “injured and sick people have few other options for places to receive urgent medical care.”

“In a time of warfare and great suffering it is essential that emergency healthcare services are maintained to treat the injured and the dying,” said Archbishop Hosam Naoum who joined the protest against the closure.

”We appeal to the Israeli forces to permit us to continue our sacred ministry of medical care and  healing. We plead for an end to the targeting of civilians and all vulnerable people and demand all parties agree to an immediate ceasefire,” he added.

Founded in 1882, al-Ahli Arab Hospital is located in Gaza City, in the northern sector. The war in Gaza has affected all aspects of life due to restrictions on the movement of materials and people, caused power and food shortages, with water, fuel, and medicines beginning to run out.

The 80-bed facility is capable of handling about 3,500 outpatient visits a month, according to the website of the Diocese of Jerusalem, which runs the facility and is part of the Anglican Communion.

According to the hospital’s records, doctors at Al Ahli Arab can handle about 300 operations and 600 radiology cases a month, with a screening programme for early detection of breast cancer for women over 40.

It offers free clinics for elderly women and mobile clinics providing free medical care and food to people from nearby towns and villages.

The hospital also sponsored the Gaza’s first physician training for Minimally Invasive Surgery. Plans are in development for adding a cancer centre with radiation treatment.

By asianews