Israel detains 240 Palestinians including medics after Gaza hospital raid
- 15 hours ago
Israeli forces detained more than 240 Palestinians including dozens of medical staff and the director of a north Gaza hospital they raided on Friday night, according to the health ministry in the enclave and Israel's military.
The health ministry said it was concerned about the well-being of Hussam Abu Safiya, director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital, as some staff freed by the Israeli military late on Friday said he was beaten up by soldiers.
The raid on the hospital, one of three medical facilities on the northern edge of Gaza, put the last major health facility in north Gaza out of service, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said in a post on X.
The "WHO is appalled by yesterday’s raid. The systematic dismantling of the health system and a siege for over 80 days on North Gaza puts the lives of the 75,000 Palestinians remaining in the area at risk," the WHO said.
Some patients were evacuated from Kamal Adwan to the Indonesian Hospital, which is not in service, and medics were prevented from joining them there, the Gaza Health Ministry said. Other patients and staff were taken to other medical facilities.
The Israeli military said 350 patients and medical personnel were evacuated prior to the Kamal Adwan operation, while another 95 were evacuated to the Indonesian Hospital during the operation, in co-ordination with local health authorities.
Separately, the Gaza Health Ministry said Israeli strikes across the enclave killed 18 Palestinians on Saturday, at least nine of them in a house in Maghazi camp in central Gaza Strip.
TARGETS IN NORTHERN GAZA
In the past few months Israeli forces have pushed people out and razed much of the area around the northern Gaza towns of Jabalia, Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya.
Palestinians have accused Israel of carrying out ethnic cleansing by depopulating those areas to create a buffer zone.
Reuters
