El-Wafa Medical Rehabilitation Hospital incident
At approximately 12:15 am, in the East male ward of the second floor of El-Wafa hospital, room number 204, two staff
nurses were killed
PRESS RELEASE
El-Wafa Medical Rehabilitation Hospital incident
Gaza, Palestine
At approximately 12:15 am, in the East male ward of the second floor of El-Wafa hospital, room number 214, two staff
nurses were killed. Abd Al-kareem Lobbad (21 years of age) and Omar Hassan (21 years of age), were shot dead by a single
bullet through a plexiglass window from an IDF soldier. Mohammed Abu-Riyalla who helped with this deposition was also
present in the room at time of incident. The IDF soldiers occupied a residential building across the street and the
incident took place after the occupation of the building. Omar Hassan died immediately. Abd Al-Kareem Lobbad died on the
way to Shifa hospital in Gaza. They were both transferred to Shifa hospital. From the location were the soldiers took
action and shot at the hospital, there is a clear, big sign in Arabic and English, stating that this building is a
hospital. There’s also a sizeable flag, stating that this building is a hospital. Both the flag and the hospital sign
can be seen from 400 meters away. The Red Crescent society informed all staff at hospital to evacuate the hospital so
that the number of casualties would stay low to which they all refused. The number of staff in the evening are much
fewer than during the day time and staff who wanted to assist all others in the hospital were refused entry by the IDF.
After the shooting incident, the IDF soldiers surrounded the hospital until 3:30 am at which point they withdrew. A
house was also shelled with apache helicopters and demolished approximately 70 meters from the hospital at 11:45 pm.
Targeting hospital staff is a clear violation of Geneva Convention international law. There are two international staff,
American and French nationals who currently work at El-Wafa hospital.
El-Wafa Medical Rehabilitation Hospital
Gaza, Palestine