Israel detained the director of one of the last operating hospitals in northern Gaza during a raid

The head of one of the Israeli army was taken into custody North of Gaza Nine people, including children, were killed in overnight attacks on hospitals elsewhere in the territory, Palestinian medical officials said Saturday. The Israeli army claimed that Hamas militants used the facility and said that more than 240 people were detained.

The Ministry of Health of Gaza said that the director of Kamal Advan hospital, Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, along with dozens of other workers, were arrested on Friday and taken to an interrogation center. The ministry said that Israeli soldiers stormed the hospital, took out many workers and patients and advised them to undress in winter.

The Israeli military confirmed on Saturday that they had detained the hospital director, calling him a suspected Hamas operative without providing any evidence. He said that he surrounded the hospital and special forces entered and found weapons in the area. It was reported that the militants opened fire on his forces and they were “destroyed”.

On Friday, the military denied entering or setting fire to the hospital compound, but admitted ordering people to stay outside. The military reiterated that Hamas militants were operating inside Kamal Advan, but provided no evidence. Hospital officials denied this.

The hospital has been hit multiple times in the past three months by Israeli soldiers attacking the largely isolated area. northern Gaza It says it has regrouped against Hamas fighters. The Ministry of Health said that 5 medical workers were killed as a result of the strike at the hospital earlier this week.

MedGlobal, the humanitarian organization Abu Safiya works for, said on Friday it was deeply concerned about him. He said the incident followed the arrest of five other staff in October, which he called “an alarming and appalling example of the targeting of medical staff and facilities”.

Israel’s nearly 15-month campaign of bombing and ground attacks has devastated Gaza’s health sector. The World Health Organization said the Kamal Advan raid had “put out of service” the last major health facility in northern Gaza after increasing restrictions on access, adding that “this horror must be stopped and health must be protected”.

The health ministry said the conditions of Kamal Advan patients transferred to nearby damaged Indonesian Hospital – which has also been raided in the past – were “extremely difficult”.

In a statement issued by the Israeli army on Saturday, it was stated that in recent weeks, medical personnel along with 350 patients were evacuated from Kamal Advan, and during the operation, another 95 patients, caregivers and medical personnel were evacuated to the Indonesian Hospital. He also said that he provided both hospitals with fuel and medical supplies.

War It has killed more than 45,400 Palestinians and injured more than 108,000, more than half of them women and children, according to the Ministry of Health. Its number does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

Since October, Israel’s offensive has virtually sealed off the northern Gaza Strip of Jabaliya, Beit Hanoun, and Beit Lahiya, flattening large parts of it. Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been displaced, but thousands are believed to remain in the area where Kemal Advan and two other hospitals are located.

Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas after the militants attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which nearly 1,200 people were killed and nearly 250 kidnapped. About 100 Israelis remain captive in Gaza, and about a third are believed to be dead.

Israel continued its attacks in Gaza on Saturday. According to the information provided by the Associated Press reporter who saw the bodies and the staff of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, at least 9 people, including women and children, were killed in the overnight attack in Maghazi.

Men wept as corpses wrapped in bloody white plastic lay on the morgue floor.

The Health Ministry said on Saturday that 48 people were killed in the last 24 hours as a result of Israeli fire.

Meanwhile, Israel said that its troops had begun operations in the northern city of Beit Hanoun, citing intelligence information about the presence of fighters and Hamas infrastructure in the region.

Attacks continued in Israel. Air raid sirens sounded early Saturday and the military said it had intercepted a missile fired by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Israeli warplanes bombed Yemen’s key infrastructure again on Thursday. The Houthis are also attacking shipping in the Red Sea and say they will not stop until Israel agrees to a ceasefire in Gaza.