Israeli Army Detains Kamal Adwan Hospital Director – Facility Set on Fire

December 28, 2024 News, Uncategorized
Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital. (Photo: video grab)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

The Israeli army forcibly removed 350 people from the premises, stripping patients, their companions, and staff of their clothing in freezing temperatures before transporting them to an undisclosed location.  

Israeli occupation forces have detained Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital, in northern Gaza along with dozens of staff members, Gaza’s Ministry of Health has confirmed. 

This follows a raid by the Israeli army early on Friday, in which the hospital was surrounded by tanks and fired upon with quadcopter-mounted machine guns before being set on fire. 

Operating rooms, surgical departments and the laboratory were among the units destroyed as the blaze swept through the hospital, the Health Ministry said. 

At approximately 7:15 a.m. local time, Israeli army officers used loudspeakers to order Dr. Abu Safiya, along with the injured, patients, and medical staff, to evacuate the hospital within 15 minutes, Quds News Network reported. 

Forced to Strip

The Health Ministry later confirmed that Israeli occupation forces forcibly removed 350 people from the premises, stripping patients, their companions, and staff of their clothing in the freezing cold before transporting them to an undisclosed location.  

Contact with the hospital has reportedly since been lost. Ambulances dispatched to the site have not returned, and the fate of those taken remains unknown. 

This assault is the latest in a series of repeated attacks on Kamal Adwan Hospital, which has been operating under dire conditions. Dr. Abu Safiyya has repeatedly appealed to the UN and the international community to intervene in the situation.

For months, the northern Gaza Strip has faced a total blockade, with Israeli forces preventing the entry of essential supplies, including medical equipment, water, and food. 

‘Death Sentence’ – WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that the raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital “has put this last major health facility in North Gaza out of service.” 

“Initial reports indicate that some key departments were severely burnt and destroyed during the raid,” the WHO said on X.

The UN agency said “60 health workers and 25 patients in critical condition, including those on ventilators, reportedly remain in the hospital. The patients in moderate to severe condition were forced to evacuate to the destroyed and non-functional Indonesian Hospital. WHO is deeply concerned for their safety.”

This raid, said the WHO, comes after escalating restrictions on access for WHO and partners, and repeated attacks on or near the facility since early October. 

“The systematic dismantling of the health system in Gaza is a death sentence for tens of thousands of Palestinians in need of health care,” said the WHO, urging an immediate ceasefire. 

‘Disgrace’ – Health Ministry Director

The director-general of the Health Ministry, Dr. Muneer Alboursh, said in an interview with the Al Jazeera Arabic channel that the Israeli army has targeted the hospital “more than 37 times.”

“Communication was cut off with everyone in the hospital whether it was medical staff or healthcare workers,” Dr. Alboursh said, “even the ambulances that went haven’t returned with any news.”

He said this “attack on the hospital marks a disgrace on the forehead of humanity as a whole, and on international organizations, and on the forehead of the entire Arab nation. This hospital remained steadfast until the last moment and continued to serve and deliver its message.”

The official emphasized that “Dr. Hussam was calling out and pleading every day…save Kamal Adwan Hospital, protect our medical teams and in the end they burn the hospital.”

“Until now, we don’t know the fate of Dr. Hussam or the medical staff who are with him,” said Dr. Alboursh.

Hamas Denies Fighters Present

The Palestinian Resistance movement, Hamas, has denied Israeli claims about the presence of its fighters inside the Kamal Adwan hospital, according to the Anadolu news agency. 

The army reportedly claimed that the raid on the medical facility was to target Hamas fighters inside the hospital.

“We categorically deny the presence of the resistance fighters in the hospital, which was open to everyone, including international and UN agencies,” Hamas said in a statement cited by Anadolu. 

The movement said Israel’s claims aim “to justify the heinous crime committed by the occupation army by evacuating and burning all sections of the hospital as part of its plan of genocide and forced displacement.”

Hamas urged the UN to form an investigation panel to look into Israeli crimes in northern Gaza, “which is witnessing a fully-fledged plan of extermination and displacement.”

(PC, Anadolu)

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