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Israeli forces detain director, other staff of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza

Footage released by Israeli occupation forces captures the moments leading up to the detention of Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, during a raid on Friday. The video shows Abu Safiya entering an Israeli military vehicle. He was subsequently detained and his current whereabouts remain unknown. Israel has since said it detained 240 Palestinians, including hospital staff, during the raid on the medical facility, which was then set on fire and rendered out of service. Abu Safiya's family has issued an urgent appeal for action to ensure his safety and release.

December 28, 2024 at 12:55 pm

The Palestinian Health Ministry announced that Israeli forces arrested Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, and other staffers on Saturday, one day after Israeli troops set fire to the area’s only major health care facility, Anadolu Agency reports.

The arrest came after an Israeli military offensive targeting the Kamal Adwan Hospital and its surroundings.

Israeli troops forcibly evacuated patients and medical personnel from the hospital on Friday, and several were detained before setting fire to its large sections, rendering it completely inoperable, according to a ministry statement.

The attack on Kamal Adwan Hospital forced the closure of the northern Gaza Strip’s last major medical facility.

Israel has killed more than 45,400 people in Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023, cross-border attack by Hamas, reducing the enclave to rubble.

Last month, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

READ: WHO says Israeli raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital put ‘last major health facility’ in northern Gaza out of service