Head of certainly one of northern Gaza’s final partially functioning hospitals arrested as Israeli army raids the power and forces out dozens of docs 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 army 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 recognized the place he has been taken.
The World Well being Group mentioned it misplaced contact with Abu Safia after the raid, which additionally noticed the Israeli army power out dozens of medical employees and sufferers.
The director basic of the Ministry of Well being in Gaza, Munir al-Barsh, mentioned Abu Safia was severely overwhelmed with batons and sticks by Israeli forces, who pressured 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 might want to find out 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 recognized 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 go away Kamal Adwan Hospital after the Israeli army 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 lot of civilians.
The siege additionally has had a devastating influence 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 employees members, leaving him and a handful of medical employees to take care of 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 army of killing his son to punish him for refusing to go away the hospital.
Despite the siege, the medical workforce, which included just a few docs corresponding to Abu Safia and a small group of nurses, remained on the hospital, refusing repeated orders from the Israeli army to go away.
By staying put within the hospital, Abu Safia had saved 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 induced ruptures in his veins and arteries. However he pleaded to proceed his work.
“This won’t cease us,” he mentioned. “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 recuperate.”
