“Medical Lawfare” or “Wage War from the Hospitals?" IHL and Healthcare in the Hamas/Israel Armed Conflict

The armed conflict in the Gaza Strip provides an opportunity to address one of the most controversial humanitarian challenges that the armed operations in Gaza and beyond are currently facing: the protection of healthcare. In this paper, we explore some of the most contentious legal issues arising from the relevant rules of IHL focusing specifically, in turn, on the obligation to respect and protect medical units and transports. In order to avoid a discussion which may appear theoretical, the paper tries as systematically as possible to confront the applicable rules to selected case studies drawn from the ongoing Gaza conflict, permitting to test the legal framework against official statements made by parties to the conflict and information provided by international actors.