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Written by Nidal al-Mughrabi and Maytaal Angel
CAIRO/JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli forces detained dozens of medical workers at a hospital in northern Gaza that they stormed on Friday, the Enclave’s Health Ministry said.
The Israeli army stormed the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya on Friday, ordering dozens of patients and hundreds more to leave and arresting medical staff including the facility’s director, Hussam Abu Safiya.
The Ministry of Health said it was unclear what happened to Abu Safiya, adding that it was concerned for his welfare after other soldiers released by the army late on Friday reported that he was being beaten by soldiers.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the detainees.
The attack on the hospital, one of three medical centers in the northern edge of Gaza, put the last health center in northern Gaza out of service, the World Health Organization he said so in X’s post.
Some patients were taken to the Indonesian Hospital, which is not in service, and doctors were prevented from entering with them, the Ministry of Health said. Others were taken to another hospital in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
Some of the freed medical personnel arrived at Al-Ahly Arab Baptist Hospital in Gaza City.
The Israeli army said on Friday that Hamas fighters had operated out of Kamal Adwan Hospital throughout the 15-month war and had made the area a key stronghold. Hamas dismissed this as “lies”, saying there were no militants in the hospital.
The Gaza Ministry of Health also said that Israeli attacks across the border killed 18 Palestinians on Saturday, at least nine of them in a house in the Maghazi camp in the middle of the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli army said on Saturday that it had launched an overnight operation against targets in the Beit Hanoun area of northern Gaza. It said: “Soldiers are helping residents who are still in the area to evacuate for their own safety.”
In the past few months Israeli forces have pushed people out and destroyed much of the area near the northern towns of Jabalia, Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya.
The Palestinians have accused Israel of committing ethnic cleansing by depopulating the areas to create a safe haven. Israel denies it is doing this, saying it aims to prevent Hamas fighters from regrouping in these areas.
Israel’s campaign against Hamas, which previously controlled Gaza, has killed more than 45,400 Palestinians, according to local health officials. Most of the 2.3 million residents have been displaced and most of Gaza is in ruins.
The war was sparked by a Hamas attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, where 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken to Gaza as hostages, according to Israeli reports.
