Israeli shelling of Gaza field hospital a 'war crime': Jordan

Jordan has strongly condemned Israel's strikes on Wednesday near a Jordanian field hospital in the Gaza Strip, which wounded seven medical staff who were treating injured Palestinians.

Amman issued a statement saying held Israel "fully responsible for endangering the lives of Jordanian medical personnel" working at the medical facility saying the shelling was "a clear violation of international law".

Jordan threatened to take legal and political steps after it receives the results of an investigation launched by the Jordanian army, the statement said, and demanded Israel to cease its attacks on hospitals in Gaza.

Israeli shelling and airstrikes on, or around, medical facilities in Gaza have killed at least 16 medical workers since Israel's onslaught on Gaza began on 7 October. At least 11,500 Palestinians have been killed - mostly children and women, and over 29,000 injured in the five-week assault.

Egypt described the shelling of the field hospital as "a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law" and condemned the "targeting and raiding of other hospitals and civilian facilities in Gaza".

The UAE, Kuwaiti, and Qatari foreign ministries also issued statements of condemnation.

Earlier this week, Human Rights Watch said that Israel's repeated attacks on medical facilities, personnel, and transport were further destroying the Gaza Strip's healthcare system and should be investigated as war crimes.

It said that Israel's claim that Hamas was using hospitals lacked evidence and was a bid by Israel to deprive hospitals and ambulances of their protected status under international humanitarian law.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that at least 521 people, including 16 medical workers, have been killed in 137 "attacks on health care" in Gaza as of 12 November.

These attacks, alongside Israel's decisions to cut off electricity and water and block humanitarian aid to Gaza, have severely impeded healthcare access, the NGO said.

The United Nations found as of 10 November two-thirds of primary care facilities and half of all hospitals in Gaza were not functioning at a time when medical personnel were dealing with unprecedented numbers of severely injured patients.

Hospitals have run out of medicine and basic equipment, with doctors forced to operate without anesthesia and resorting to vinegar as an antiseptic.