Gaza government calls on international community to reveal fate of Abu Safiya and medical crews arrested by occupation

The Government Media Office in the Gaza Strip called on the international community on Sunday to reveal the fate of Dr. Hussam Abu Safia, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, and the medical staff arrested by the Israeli army during its storming of the hospital in northern Gaza last Friday.

The office said in a statement: "The occupation is putting the lives of Abu Safiya and the medical crews at risk after their arrest, and we call on the international community to reveal their fate and release them immediately without delay."

He added: "We are following with concern what Abu Safiya is being subjected to, as he presented an honorable model of dedication to performing his medical and humanitarian duty during the war of extermination in northern Gaza, despite the harsh conditions."

He continued: "Abu Safia, along with his colleagues in the health system, bore the burden of defending patients' right to treatment, and remained steadfast despite his injury and the loss of his son Ibrahim, witnessing the sacrifices of his family."

She pointed out that "the reports that Abu Safiya was subjected to serious violations and psychological and physical pressure after his arrest, including being forced to take off his medical clothing and being used as a human shield, constitute a flagrant violation of all human values and international conventions."

He called for "immediate and serious action from all concerned parties, especially the international community and international and UN humanitarian, legal, and human rights organizations."

The office called on the international community, human rights organizations, and the International Red Cross to "urgently intervene to reveal the fate of Abu Safiya and the medical crews, ensure their release, and protect them from inhumane practices."

He stressed that "the issue is not just an individual human tragedy, but rather additional evidence of the ongoing violations that our people are subjected to at the hands of the occupation."

On Saturday, the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip announced that the Israeli army had arrested the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in the North Gaza Strip Governorate, Hussam Abu Safiya.

Since the start of the war of extermination on the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, the Israeli army has been targeting the health sector in the Strip, bombing and besieging hospitals, threatening to evacuate them, and preventing the entry of medical supplies, especially in the areas of the northern Strip, which it invaded again on October 5.

The latest Israeli attack on the health system in Gaza was the storming of Kamal Adwan Hospital, setting it on fire and putting it out of service, and arresting more than 350 people who were inside, including medical staff, wounded and sick people, and Abu Safiya.

With American support, Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza since October 7, 2023, leaving more than 153,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 11,000 missing, amid massive destruction and famine that killed dozens of children and the elderly, in one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world.