The Israeli army has arrested the director of one of the last functioning hospitals in northern Gaza, as the World Health Organization (WHO) reiterated its call for the protection of hospitals in the bombed Palestinian enclave.
In a statement released on Saturday, the WHO said Kamal Adwan Hospital was “now empty” after the Israeli army attacked the facility and forced dozens of medical staff and patients out.
“Last night, the remaining 15 critical patients, 50 caregivers and 20 health workers were transferred to the Indonesian hospital, which does not have the necessary equipment and supplies to provide adequate care,” the health agency said of the United Nations.
“Moving and treating these critical patients in such conditions poses serious risks to their survival. WHO is deeply concerned for their well-being, as well as for hospital director Kamal Adwan who was reportedly arrested during the raid.
The WHO said it had lost all contact with the director, Hussam Abu Safia, since the raid began.
The Israeli military said it launched the raid on Kamal Adwan – which as of Friday morning housed around 350 patients and medical staff – because the hospital “serves as a Hamas terrorist stronghold.”
Israel has provided no evidence to support its claims, and Hamas, the Palestinian group that governs Gaza, said it “categorically” denies the allegations.
This morning’s raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital has placed this last major health facility in the North #Gaza Out of service. Initial reports indicate that some key departments were badly burned and destroyed during the raid.
60 health workers and 25 patients in critical condition,… pic.twitter.com/bD5eJgnVkR
– World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) December 27, 2024
Gaza health officials said earlier Saturday that Israeli forces had taken Abu Safia, along with dozens of other hospital staff, “to a detention center for interrogation.”
The Israeli military later confirmed that Abu Safia was among those detained for questioning. His exact whereabouts are unknown.
The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza previously quoted Abu Safia as saying that the army had “burned all the surgical departments of the hospital” and that there were “a large number of injured” among the medical team.
“Hospitals become battlefields”
The raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital comes amid a new Israeli ground offensive in northern Gaza, which began in October. Israel imposed a siege on the region, drastically reducing humanitarian aid deliveries to the Palestinians.
The WHO said it had also documented “increasing access restrictions and repeated attacks” on the health facility since early October.
“WHO is calling for urgent assurance that hospitals in northern Gaza can be helped to become functional again,” the agency said in a statement released on Saturday.
“Hospitals have once again become battlefields, reminiscent of the destruction of the health system in Gaza City earlier this year. »
The Israeli military said the hospital had become “a key stronghold for terrorist organizations and continues to be used as a hideout for terrorists.”
Before launching the latest attack on Kamal Adwan, the Israeli army said its soldiers had “facilitated the safe evacuation of civilians, patients and medical personnel.”
Hamas denied the presence of its fighters in the hospital and urged the UN to set up a commission of inquiry “to examine the scale of crimes committed in northern Gaza.”
“We categorically deny the presence of any military activity or resistance fighters in the hospital,” Hamas said in a statement.
Tel Aviv Tribune’s Hamdah Salhut said the Israeli military has often accused Hamas fighters of operating from medical facilities, but has never provided evidence to support its claims.
“Most notable was the raid on al-Shifa hospital in 2023, when the army claimed that Hamas was using al-Shifa as a command and control center, claims which have never been proven to this day,” she said.
“Today, Kamal Adwan was the last functioning hospital in northern Gaza, but again, it was barely functioning because of the siege imposed by Israeli forces – a siege on food, water and all kinds of medical supplies. »
Witnesses recount the ordeal
Ismail al-Kahlout, a nurse working at the hospital, told Tel Aviv Tribune that staff and patients were held in the cold for hours by the Israeli army after being almost stripped naked.
Some Palestinians, especially those who were injured or sick, were beaten. “Israeli soldiers tied us up and blindfolded us,” he said. “We could hear people screaming, but we couldn’t tell exactly who was being beaten. »
Shorouk al-Rantisi, who was also besieged in Kamal Adwan, said Israeli soldiers were denying people water and forbidding them from going to the toilet.
“We live in humiliation,” she told Tel Aviv Tribune. “We are exhausted. We are tired. Enough is enough.
The hospital director has repeatedly expressed concerns about the situation in recent days.
“The world must understand that our hospital is being targeted with the intent to kill and forcibly displace the people there,” Abou Safia said in a statement Monday.
The Israeli attack has killed more than 45,300 Palestinians since October last year, mostly children and women, according to health officials in the enclave. The majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been displaced and much of Gaza is in ruins.
