Israel extends detention of Shifa director for 45 days

The Government Media Office in Gaza said yesterday evening that Israel had extended the detention of the director of Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital for an additional 45 days.

“The occupation army extended the detention of the director of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza for 45 days pending investigation,” its statement said.

The occupation forces arrested Muhammad Abu Salmiya last week, in addition to a number of doctors at the hospital.

The Ministry of Health in Gaza announced the “suspension of coordination with the World Health Organisation regarding the process of evacuating patients and medical personnel from hospitals in the Gaza Strip following the detention of employees working in the medical sector by the Israeli occupation army.”

In turn, the WHO confirmed that “we do not have information about the well-being of the four remaining health staff, including the director of Al-Shifa hospital,” in reference to four of the six staff members arrested at Al-Shifa.

It called for “their legal and human rights to be fully observed during their detention.”

The organisation had said in a statement received by Quds Press last Saturday that, “the director of the biggest hospital in the besieged Palestinian territory had been arrested on Wednesday along with five other health workers, while they were taking part in a United Nations mission to evacuate patients.”

Euro-Med Rights posted on X: “We are immensely concerned by reports that @WHO may have unwittingly or knowingly facilitated Israel’s kidnapping of senior medical staff from al-Shifa. WHO promised staff & patients a safe evacuation to the South coordinated with Israel, IDF stopped the convoy & kidnapped some.”

READ: Despite humanitarian pause, no fuel has reached hospitals in northern Gaza – health authorities