Israeli Forces Raid Last Major Hospital in Northern Gaza, Detain Staff and Patients
Israeli forces have arrested a hospital director and dozens of staff members after raiding the last major functioning health facility in northern Gaza, according to witnesses and Gaza health officials. The Kamal Adwan hospital, which has been under attack for months, was forced out of service during the raid.
Eyewitnesses reported that Israeli forces ordered staff and patients to strip naked outside the hospital, with those who refused being beaten. The raid also resulted in a large fire breaking out at the hospital, with staff forced to use water from a kidney dialysis machine to fight the flames. A patient died in the fire, and several others were injured.
The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Friday that the raid had put the facility out of service, with some patients, including those on ventilators, remaining inside. The organization had previously accused Israeli authorities of denying humanitarian access to the hospital and denying requests to deploy international emergency medical teams.
The whereabouts of the hospital’s director, Dr. Abu Safiya, are unclear, with friends and colleagues saying he was assaulted before being detained. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) claimed to have begun “targeted operations” around the hospital based on intelligence regarding the presence of terrorist infrastructure and operatives, but provided no proof.
Patients who were forced to flee the hospital reported being made to walk hours on foot to a school in northern Gaza, with some being made to strip naked and others being beaten. A patient who arrived at Al Shifa Hospital, a facility the WHO has described as “destroyed and nonfunctional,” described being forced to strip naked and being beaten, and said he had not seen his nephew, who was receiving treatment at the hospital, in 82 days.
The Israeli military has yet to comment on allegations that men and women were forced to strip naked during the raid.