Israel has confirmed it is holding the director of one of the last functioning hospitals in northern Gaza following reports of his arrest last week.
Dr Hussam Abu Safiya was held along with dozens of other staff and taken to an interrogation centre during a raid on the Kamal Adwan Hospital on 27 December.
The Israeli military said they targeted the hospital as it was being used a command centre by Hamas militants.
Now, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have confirmed the doctor is being held on suspicion of “involvement in terrorist activities” and accused him of “holding a rank” in Hamas, but have not disclosed his whereabouts.
He is “currently being investigated” by Israeli security forces, the statement said.
Human rights campaigners have raised concerns for Dr Abu Safiya’s welfare, with the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor organisation saying it had received information his health had deteriorated.
It said Physicians for Human Rights – Israel, another human rights group, had submitted a request for information and a lawyer’s visit on behalf of the hospital director’s family.
Following the raid on the hospital, Sky News spoke to patients who said they were forced outside in cold weather and told to strip.
Confirmation of Dr Abu Safiya’s detention comes as Israeli strikes killed at least 30 people in Gaza, including children, overnight, according to staff at al Aqsa Martyrs, another hospital in the enclave.
The Israeli army again said in a statement that it had struck Hamas gathering points and command centres.
Earlier this week, a new report from the UN Human Rights Office said Gaza’s health system was being brought “to the brink of total collapse” by Israel’s attacks on and around hospitals in the region.
At least 10 hospitals have been attacked by Israeli forces since the start of the war, some multiple times, the report said.
The Kamal Adwan Hospital has been hit multiple times over the past three months.
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The Israel-Hamas war was sparked after Hamas launched an attack on Israel on 7 October 2023.
Militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted about 250. Around 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, with at least a third believed to be dead.
Israel’s retaliation has killed more than 45,500 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, and wounded more than 108,000 others, according to the Hamas-run Palestinian health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Israel’s military says it only targets militants. The army says it has killed 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.
