Al Mezan Center for Human Rights strongly condemns the Israeli Occupation Forces' (IOF) deliberate and direct targeting of medicine warehouses at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip. The attack forms part of Israel's systematic destruction of what remains of Gaza's devastated healthcare system and constitutes yet another manifestation of its ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. Simultaneously, IOF have significantly escalated their military attacks in recent weeks, killing 25 Palestinians, including women and children, and injuring 56 others within less than 48 hours.

According to Al Mezan's field documentation, at approximately 1:30 a.m. on Saturday, 1 August 2026, Al-Aqsa Hospital received an evacuation order covering the area surrounding the hospital, including its medicine warehouses, in preparation for an imminent attack. The order spread fear and panic among patients, medical personnel, journalists, and hundreds of displaced persons sheltering in tents around the hospital. Minutes later, Israeli warplanes struck a medicine warehouse adjacent to the hospital with a missile, completely destroying two warehouses containing medicines and essential medical supplies. The attack also severely damaged two additional warehouses and the hospital's outpatient clinics building.

The destruction of the medicine warehouses comes at a time when Gaza's healthcare system is experiencing near-total collapse and acute shortages of medicines, medical supplies, and life-saving equipment. The attack further aggravates the catastrophic humanitarian and health situation, particularly as Israel continues to obstruct the entry of medicines and medical equipment while intensifying its attacks against the civilian population.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), shortages of medicines, diagnostic tools, and specialised medical equipment continue to disrupt treatment for patients suffering from hypertension, diabetes, kidney disease, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases. The shortage of insulin analogues has forced many insulin-dependent patients to switch from insulin pens to insulin vials, increasing the risk of dosing errors among vulnerable patients. Around 700 patients requiring dialysis remain at serious risk due to shortages of essential supplies.

One diabetic patient, identified by the initials (M.Z.), told Al Mezan:

"I suffer from diabetes and have been unable to obtain insulin regularly because of shortages and the difficulty of accessing it. My family and I live in a tent lacking even the most basic necessities. The extreme heat continues to worsen my condition. I cannot obtain sufficient safe drinking water, leaving me constantly thirsty and exhausted. On several occasions, my blood sugar rose to dangerous levels, causing me to lose consciousness and be transferred to hospital for treatment that is not always available. After learning that the medicine warehouse had been destroyed, I fear I will no longer be able to obtain my medication, and I fear for my life."

The attack on the medicine warehouses coincided with a large-scale escalation of IOF attacks throughout the Gaza Strip. Residential houses in Al-Maghazi refugee camp and Al-Saftawi area were bombed. Later that evening, Israeli aircraft targeted a group of civilians on Third Street in Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood, killing two Palestinians and injuring many others. Additional attacks targeted a house in Al-Mahatta area in Deir al-Balah, killing one civilian, and a tent sheltering displaced persons in Al-Mawasi, Al-Qarara, killing another. A further strike on a group of civilians on Al-Thalathini Street in Gaza City killed one Palestinian and injured many others, most of them children, while two more civilians were killed when IOF targeted the rooftop of a residential building in Tal Al-Hawa neighbourhood.

Another witness, identified by the initials (S.N.), originally from Rafah and currently displaced in Al-Mawasi, Khan Younis, stated:

"At around 4:00 a.m., we heard a massive explosion. Dust filled the air, debris fell on us, and we could not see anything. Then we heard our neighbours from the Al-Hams and Bahloul families screaming as the area caught fire. We could not move until Civil Defence crews arrived, extinguished the fire, and removed the rubble. We managed to reach nearby tents. Rescue teams were unable to recover the bodies until the morning because of the fire and darkness. Three of our neighbours were killed: Mahmoud Zaki Al-Hams, his wife Fatima Bahloul, and their child Ahmad Al-Hams. We survived by the grace of God."

On Sunday, 2 August 2026, IOF further intensified their attacks across the Gaza Strip. According to preliminary information, at least 18 Palestinians, including women and children, were killed and dozens more injured. Three entire families were exterminated and erased from the civil registry, reflecting Israel's continued pattern of targeting civilians and their homes.

Among the deadliest attacks was the bombing of a residential apartment in Al-Sousi Tower in Gaza City, which killed Abdullah Abu Al-Tayef, his wife, and their child. Rescue teams later recovered their unborn baby from beneath the rubble after being expelled from the mother's womb, wiping out the entire family.

In Deir al-Balah, IOF killed a husband and wife from the Abu Mu'ayliq family after their three children had already been killed in a previous attack, erasing the family in its entirety. Another strike on a residential apartment in Al-Mawasi, Al-Qarara, Khan Younis, killed Mahmoud Al-Hams, his wife, and their child, exterminating the family. IOF also targeted a civilian vehicle on Salah Al-Din Street, killing brothers Hazem and Mohammad Jabr. Another civilian was killed near Yemen Al-Saeed Hospital in Jabalia. In Gaza City, IOF bombed a tent sheltering displaced persons on Al-Thawra Street, killing a child and another civilian. Later, another strike on a civilian vehicle in central Gaza City killed four Palestinians and injured several others.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health and hospitals across the Gaza Strip, at least 25 Palestinians, including women and children, were killed and 56 others injured within less than 48 hours as a result of the continued Israeli attacks. During the past month alone, 152 Palestinians were killed, including 21 children and 14 women, reflecting the unprecedented escalation in attacks against civilians. Since the ceasefire agreement entered into force, IOF have killed 1,248 Palestinians and injured 4,112 others.

Al Mezan strongly condemns Israel's continued commission of grave international crimes, including the repeated targeting of hospitals and other civilian objects, homes, tents sheltering displaced persons, civilian gatherings, and, most recently, the destruction of the medicine warehouses in Deir al-Balah. These attacks further deepen the humanitarian and health catastrophe, constitute collective punishment, and form an integral part of Israel's ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.

Al Mezan warns that the continued failure of the international community to take immediate and effective action to halt Israel's ongoing genocide, its attacks against civilians and civilian objects, and its unlawful siege and obstruction of humanitarian assistance—particularly medical aid—will inevitably result in the loss of tens of thousands more civilian lives.

Accordingly, Al Mezan calls upon the international community to urgently fulfil its legal and moral obligations by exerting effective pressure on Israel to immediately cease its ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people, end all attacks against civilians and civilian objects, ensure the protection of hospitals, medical facilities, ambulances, and healthcare personnel, guarantee the immediate and unhindered entry of humanitarian assistance, fuel, medicines, and medical equipment into the Gaza Strip, and ensure accountability for all perpetrators of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, putting an end to the longstanding culture of impunity.