Rights group warns of Israeli control over American Hospital in Rafah

The Gaza Center for Human Rights (GCCHR) has expressed deep concern over reports that the US-based humanitarian organisation Samaritan’s Purse is establishing a field hospital in Rafah, in an area under full Israeli military control.

In a statement issued Monday, the center warned of a lack of transparency regarding the hospital’s purpose, oversight, and funding sources. According to the GCCHR, the 80-bed facility is expected to be staffed by American, Canadian, and European doctors, with efforts underway to recruit Palestinian physicians from within Gaza in exchange for salaries and secure housing. Equipment for the hospital is reportedly set to arrive by mid-October as part of what the center described as “direct American-Israeli coordination.”

The GCCHR voiced fears that the hospital could be used as “a tool for political and humanitarian blackmail” or as a means of control over Palestinian patients. The center drew parallels to previous cases, such as the so-called “Gaza Humanitarian Organisation,” which it said had served as a front for targeting Palestinian civilians and enforcing policies that contributed to starvation.

The rights group emphasised that any medical facility established in an area under complete Israeli control “cannot be separated from the system of domination” imposed by the occupying authorities. It warned that tying humanitarian services to political or security conditions risks turning them into instruments of pressure and coercion, in violation of human rights principles and international humanitarian law.

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