HRW: Israeli evidence so far insufficient to revoke Shifa’s protections

This handout picture released by the Israeli army on Nov. 15, 2023, reportedly shows Israeli soldiers carrying out operations inside Al-Shifa hospital, amid continuing battles Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. (AFP)

Weapons and equipment which Israel's army says were found at Al Shifa hospital complex in the Gaza Strip, as seen in this screen grab from video released by the Israel Defense Forces on Nov. 15, 2023. (Reuters)

• “Hospitals have special protections under international humanitarian law,” said Human Rights Watch UN Director Louis Charbonneau

GAZA: Images released by Israel of weapons it says it soldiers found inside Gaza’s biggest hospital are not sufficient to justify revoking the hospital’s status as protected by the laws of war, Human Rights Watch said on Thursday.
“Hospitals have special protections under international humanitarian law. Doctors, nurses, ambulances and other hospital staff must be permitted to do their work and patients must be protected,” Human Rights Watch UN Director Louis Charbonneau told Reuters.
“Hospitals only lose those protections if it can be shown that harmful acts have been carried out from the premises. The Israeli government hasn’t provided any evidence of that.”