Head of considered one of northern Gaza’s final partially functioning hospitals arrested as Israeli navy raids the power and forces out dozens of medical doctors and sufferers.
Issues are rising concerning the security of the director of one of many final partially functioning hospitals in northern Gaza after the Israeli navy detained him.
Hussam Abu Safia, 51, was arrested by Israeli forces throughout their raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya on Friday. It isn’t identified the place he has been taken.
The World Well being Group stated it misplaced contact with Abu Safia after the raid, which additionally noticed the Israeli navy drive out dozens of medical workers and sufferers.
The director common of the Ministry of Well being in Gaza, Munir al-Barsh, stated Abu Safia was severely overwhelmed with batons and sticks by Israeli forces, who compelled him to strip and placed on garments meant for prisoners.
It was the second time in as many months that Abu Safia had been detained by Israeli forces as they conduct their genocide in Gaza.
Right here’s what you’ll want to learn about him:
Abu Safia, a paediatrician by coaching, is a outstanding determine in Gaza’s healthcare system. He holds a grasp’s diploma and a Palestinian board certification in paediatrics and neonatology.
Additionally identified by his nickname Abu Elias, Abu Safia was born on November 21, 1973, within the Jabalia refugee camp within the northern Gaza Strip. His household was displaced in 1948 from the Palestinian city of Hamama within the Ashkelon district.
Abu Safia refused a number of Israeli orders to depart Kamal Adwan Hospital after the Israeli navy imposed a devastating blockade on the northern Gaza Strip on October 5. The siege noticed Israel minimize off provides of meals and water to the Palestinians within the space whereas launching air strikes and conducting shelling, killing a whole bunch of civilians.
The siege additionally has had a devastating impression on the area’s hospitals. Abu Safia was briefly arrested after which launched when Israeli forces stormed the power in late October and detained 44 of its workers members, leaving him and a handful of medical staff to look after dozens of wounded folks.
Throughout the identical operation, Israeli forces killed Abu Safia’s son Ibrahim in a drone strike on the gate of the hospital. The physician led the funeral prayers for his son within the hospital’s courtyard as he accused the Israeli navy of killing his son to punish him for refusing to depart the hospital.
Despite the siege, the medical crew, which included a couple of medical doctors comparable to Abu Safia and a small group of nurses, remained on the hospital, refusing repeated orders from the Israeli navy to depart.
By staying put within the hospital, Abu Safia had stored the world knowledgeable of Israel’s near-daily assaults, issuing video statements and pleading for worldwide intervention to finish the assaults.
He was wounded by shrapnel from an Israeli drone assault on the hospital on November 23 whereas he was exiting the working room. He sustained six shrapnel wounds to his thigh, which triggered ruptures in his veins and arteries. However he pleaded to proceed his work.
“This won’t cease us,” he stated. “I used to be injured at my office, and that’s an honour. My blood is not any extra valuable than that of my colleagues or the folks we serve. I’ll return to my sufferers as quickly as I get well.”
