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Israel forcibly evacuates Gaza hospital and detains medical staff | Israel forcibly evacuates Gaza hospital and detains medical staff |
(about 3 hours later) | |
A wounded Palestinian man evacuated from Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza is brought to Al-Ahli al-Arabi Hospital | A wounded Palestinian man evacuated from Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza is brought to Al-Ahli al-Arabi Hospital |
Israeli forces have detained and interrogated medical staff after forcibly evacuating the last major hospital in northern Gaza, the Hamas-run health ministry says. | |
The director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, was among those taken for questioning by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), which accused him of "being a Hamas terrorist operative", without providing evidence. | |
On Friday an estimated 50 people, including medical staff were killed in Israeli air strikes targeting the vicinity of the hospital, the health ministry said. | |
The IDF said it had carried out an operation there, alleging the hospital was a "Hamas terrorist stronghold". | |
Fifteen critical patients, 50 caregivers and 20 health workers were transferred the nearby Indonesian Hospital, the World Health Organization (WHO) said. | |
The WHO said it was "appalled by yesterday's raid" on the hospital, which it said now meant the area's last major health facility was out of service. | |
Eid Sabbah, head of the nursing department at Kamal Adwan, told the BBC the military had ordered the evacuation around 07:00 on Friday, giving the hospital about 15 minutes to move patients and staff into the courtyard. | Eid Sabbah, head of the nursing department at Kamal Adwan, told the BBC the military had ordered the evacuation around 07:00 on Friday, giving the hospital about 15 minutes to move patients and staff into the courtyard. |
Israeli troops then entered the hospital and removed the remaining patients, he said. | Israeli troops then entered the hospital and removed the remaining patients, he said. |
The IDF said it had "facilitated the secure evacuation of civilians, patients and medical personnel" before beginning the operation. | The IDF said it had "facilitated the secure evacuation of civilians, patients and medical personnel" before beginning the operation. |
The city of Beit Lahia, where the hospital is located, has been under a tightening Israeli blockade imposed on parts of northern Gaza since October. | |
The UN has said the area has been under "near-total siege" as the Israeli military heavily restricts access of aid deliveries to an area where an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 people remain. | |
In recent days, the hospital's administrators have issued desperate pleas appealing to be protected, as they say the facility has become a regular target for Israeli shelling and explosives. | |
But the IDF and Israeli Security Agency (ISA) alleged that intelligence had shown "terrorists" were using the Kamal Adwan Hospital as a command centre for its military operations in Jabalia. | |
In a statement on Saturday, the IDF said it apprehended 240 combatants. | |
It said IDF officers were attacked during the operation and weapons were found and confiscated in the area of the hospital. | |
It added Dr Abu Safiya was among medical staff taken for questioning and is "suspected of being a Hamas terrorist operative, as well as Hamas engineering and anti-tank missile operatives." | |
Hamas has called on the United Nations to intervene to protect the remaining medical facilities in Gaza. | |
"We also demand that UN observers be sent to these facilities in order to determine the truth of what is happening," it said in statement on Saturday. | |
Photo dated 25 December: Palestinians search for victims after an Israeli strike on the courtyard of Kamal Adwan Hospital | |
Gaza's deputy minister of health, Dr Yousef Abu-Al Rish, told the BBC that around 100 medical staff were being questioned by the IDF and alleged that some were exposed to psychological torture. | |
The IDF did not comment on the latter allegation when approached by the BBC. | The IDF did not comment on the latter allegation when approached by the BBC. |
Concerns remain about the state of the Indonesian Hospital, which doctors have warned is not equipped for patients. | |
"You can't call it a hospital, it's more of a shelter," Dr Abu-Al Rish said on Friday. | |
The WHO added that an urgent mission was being planned to the Indonesian Hospital to move patients to southern Gaza for medical care. | The WHO added that an urgent mission was being planned to the Indonesian Hospital to move patients to southern Gaza for medical care. |
Additional reporting by Shaimaa Khalil | Additional reporting by Shaimaa Khalil |