Israeli forces have arrested Ahmed al-Kahlout, the director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital, in the northern Gaza Strip, along with dozens of medical personnel.
The Gaza-based Ministry of Health said the military stormed the hospital on Tuesday after besieging it for several days.
They rounded up all “Palestinian men, including health staff” before subjecting them to “interrogation”, said Ashraf al-Qudra, the ministry spokesperson, before taking them to an unknown location.
🚨Yesterday the Israeli military raided the Kamal Adwan Hospital and took 70 medical staff to an undisclosed location.
MAP is gravely concerned for their welfare, as well as patients, staff and displaced people reportedly trapped inside without electricity, water or food.
— Medical Aid for Palestinians (@MedicalAidPal) December 13, 2023
“We urge the UN, World Health Organization and Red Cross to act immediately…,” al-Qudra reportedly said.
Another report quotes Dr Hossam Abu-Safia, the head of pediatrics at the hospital as saying that “more than 70 medical staff were arrested.”
Thousands of displaced Palestinians have taken shelter at the hospital after being forced to flee their homes.
Before his abduction, al-Kahlout is reported as having strongly criticized the siege on the hospital.
“No electricity, water, or food at the hospital,” he is quoted as saying, had made the situation at the medical facility “very difficult.” He added, “Three children at the hospital lost their lives in the last three days due to a shortage of oxygen.”
Israeli occupation forces have detained the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, Ahmad al-Kahlout, along with 70 medical personnel, and took them to an undisclosed location, the #Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed on Tuesday.
For a few days now, Israeli snipers have taken over… pic.twitter.com/t6SI58xUlC
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) December 13, 2023
Al-Kahlout had also reportedly spoken to CNN less than 24 hours earlier and said Israeli tank shells had hit the hospital’s maternity ward on Monday. The strike killed two women and left two others badly wounded, resulting in amputation, he reportedly added.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 18,412 Palestinians have been killed and more than 50,000 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7. Palestinian and international estimates say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
(Palestine Chronicle, Anadolu)
Were these people kidnapped and taken hostage? Removing 70 medical staff is going to make the situation in Gaza even more desperate.