Israel has confirmed it is holding Gaza hospital director Dr Hussam Abu Safiya after earlier telling a local NGO that it was unaware of his case, sparking concern for his well being.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) statement said he was “currently being investigated by Israeli security forces” in person.
On Saturday, the IDF said it apprehended 240 combatants at Kamal Adwan and said Dr Abu Safiya was among medical staff taken for questioning.
Dr Abu Safiya was previously arrested by Israeli forces during an earlier raid on the hospital in October, but was freed shortly afterwards.
Israel’s mission in Geneva said Israeli forces operated in accordance with international law and would “never target innocent civilians”.
Israel has confirmed that it is detaining Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of the Gaza Hospital, after he told a local nongovernmental organization that it was not aware of his case, raising concerns about his health.
He was “currently being investigated by Israeli security forces” in person, according to a statement from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
He was suspected of being a “terrorist” and of “holding a rank” in Hamas, the armed Palestinian organization at war with Israel in Gaza, according to the statement, which did not provide an explanation for the confusion.
Last Friday, Dr. Abu Safiya was taken into custody when the Israeli military ejected patients and medical personnel from the Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gaza, claiming it was a “Hamas terrorist stronghold.”.
Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI) was informed by the IDF on Thursday that it had “no indication of the arrest or detention of the individual in question.”.
Demanding that the location of Dr. Abu Safiya be made public, the PHRI submitted a petition to the Israeli High Court of Justice on Thursday. It stated that the IDF was given a week by the court to comply.
Agnès Callamard, the head of Amnesty International, stated that Israeli authorities need to “urgently disclose his whereabouts” instantly.
She claimed that Israel had “held hundreds of Palestinian healthcare workers from Gaza incommunicado detention and subjected them to torture and other ill-treatment without charge or trial.”.
Israel claims it does not abuse its detainees.
In the past, Dr. Abu Safiya’s family told BBC Arabic that they think he is being held at the southern Israeli military base of Sde Teiman, where Israeli forces have taken numerous detainees from Gaza that are being questioned.
The BBC and other international media have previously been informed by whistleblowers about the extremely harsh conditions that the detainees there endure. According to Israel, every detainee is housed “carefully and appropriately” there.
Medical staff at Kamal Adwan Hospital told the BBC that the IDF gave them about fifteen minutes to relocate patients and staff into the courtyard after ordering everyone inside to leave last Friday morning.
Israel has been enforcing a tighter blockade on parts of northern Gaza since October, including the hospital in Beit Lahia. The Israeli military severely restricts access to aid deliveries to an area where an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 people still live, putting the region under “near-total siege,” according to the UN.
The IDF reported on Saturday that it had captured 240 fighters at Kamal Adwan and that Dr. Abu Safiya was one of the medical personnel who had been detained for interrogation.
Before being taken for questioning, he was seen on camera approaching an Israeli armored vehicle. The doctor was taken for interrogation, according to an Israeli military spokesperson who confirmed the arrest that same day.
During an earlier raid on the hospital in October, Israeli forces had previously detained Dr. Abu Safiya, but he was soon released. Dr. Abu Safiya’s 15-year-old son was killed by a drone strike during that Israeli operation. Later that day, he was seen leading his son’s funeral prayers in the hospital courtyard in video.
More people are denouncing Israeli attacks on Gaza’s medical facilities.
Israeli attacks on and around hospitals have driven Gaza’s healthcare system to “the brink of total collapse,” according to the UN Human Rights Office, which also expressed grave concerns about war crimes and crimes against humanity on Tuesday.
According to Israel’s mission in Geneva, Israeli forces would “never target innocent civilians” and would act in compliance with international law.
