ReutersIsrael has confirmed it is holding Gaza hospital director Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya after earlier telling a local NGO it was unaware of his case, sparking concern for his well-being.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) statement said he was “currently being personally investigated by Israeli security forces.”
The statement offered no explanation for the mix-up, but reiterated that he was a suspected “terrorist” and that he had “rank” in Hamas, the Palestinian militant group fighting Israel in Gaza.
Dr. Abu Safiya was arrested when the Israeli military forced patients and medical staff out of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza last Friday, claiming the facility was a “bastion of Hamas terrorists.”
On Thursday, the IDF told Physicians for Human Rights in Israel (PHRI) that there was “no indication of the arrest or detention of the person in question.”
PHRI filed a petition with Israel's Supreme Court on Thursday demanding that Dr. Abu Safiya's location be revealed. It said the court had given the IDF a week to comply.
Meanwhile, Amnesty chief Agnès Callamard said Israeli authorities must “urgently reveal his whereabouts”.
She said Israel detained “hundreds of Palestinian health workers from Gaza without charge or trial” and said they were “subjected to torture and other ill-treatment and were held in incommunicado detention”.
Israel denies mistreating detainees.
Dr Abu Safiya's family previously told BBC Arabic that they believe he is being held at the Sde Teiman military base in southern Israel, where Israeli forces have taken many detainees from Gaza for questioning.
The whistleblowers have previously told the BBC and other international media extremely harsh conditions for those deprived of liberty there. Israel said all those detained there were being treated “carefully and appropriately”.
The IDF ordered everyone at Kamal Adwan Hospital to leave last Friday morning, giving the hospital about 15 minutes to move patients and staff into the courtyard, medical staff told the BBC.
Beit Lahiya, where the hospital is located, is under a tightening Israeli blockade imposed on parts of northern Gaza since October. The UN said the area was under “almost complete siege” as the Israeli army severely restricted the access of humanitarian aid supplies to an area where about 10,000 to 15,000 people remain.
ReutersOn Saturday, the IDF said it had captured 240 fighters in Kamal Adwan and said Dr. Abu Safiya was among the medical personnel taken in for questioning.
Video footage shows him walking towards an Israeli armored vehicle before being taken away for questioning. An Israeli military spokesman confirmed the arrest the same day, saying the doctor had been transferred for questioning.
Dr Abu Safiya was previously arrested by Israeli forces during an earlier raid on the hospital in October, but was released shortly afterwards. During this Israeli operation, Dr. Abu Safiya's 15-year-old son was killed in a drone strike. Footage from later that day showed him leading funeral prayers for his son in the hospital courtyard.
Israeli attacks on health facilities in Gaza have drawn growing condemnation.
On Tuesday, the UN Human Rights Office reported that Israeli attacks on and around hospitals had increased Gaza health system on 'brink of total collapse' and raised serious concerns about war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Israel's mission in Geneva said Israeli forces acted in accordance with international law and would “never attack innocent civilians”.
Israel launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to the group's unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which around 1,200 people were killed and another 251 taken hostage.
More than 45,580 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's health ministry.