It has been 3 weeks since Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya was abducted by Israeli forces from north Gaza. New information obtained by Mondoweiss reveals details about the first hours of the doctor’s detention at the Sde Teiman prison camp.
It has been one week since the Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, Director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital, was detained by Israeli forces. Reports indicate he is being held inside a notorious torture facility, but Israeli officials won’t confirm where he is.
The Israeli army raided the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, with more than 350 people inside at the time of the attack. Female staff told journalists that they were forced to strip off their clothes by soldiers and were beaten if they refused.
The Israeli army targeted a press van in an airstrike outside a hospital, killing an entire crew from the Al-Quds TV network. One of the journalists was awaiting news from his wife inside the hospital, who was giving birth to their first child.
For 75 days, doctors in this north Gaza hospital have withstood the Israeli army’s attempts to forcibly evacuate them and their patients. In the face of death, the doctors are still refusing to leave, even as the army steps up its attacks.
We stand with Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, Director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, in pleading with the international community: Do not remain silent as Gaza’s healthcare system is systematically destroyed.
Former Israeli minister Moshe Ya’alon said in a TV interview that Israel was committing ethnic cleansing in Gaza. Meanwhile, Israel’s siege on the north continues, further crippling the remaining hospitals and healthcare systems.
In one month of continuous killing, it is thought that the Israeli army has ethnically cleansed some 100,000 people out of north Gaza. Those who remain are being starved out and exterminated.
The last functioning hospital in north Gaza is forced out of service as Israeli forces continue to besiege and bomb Jabalia and Beit Lahia. In southern Lebanon, Israeli forces continue to take heavy losses.
The Kamal Adwan Hospital was invaded by the Israeli army and emptied of most of its patients and medical staff, while quadcopter drones opened fire on people inside. The hospital’s director, Dr. Husam Abu Safiyeh, is the only remaining doctor.