Israel confirms arrest of Kamal Adwan Hospital director
The Israeli military on Saturday confirmed it arrested the director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital, a day after Israeli forces stormed the hospital and forcibly emptied it of patients and medical staff.
The military said it had taken Dr Hussam Abu Safiya in for questioning, and accused him of being a "suspected Hamas terrorist operative".
The Israeli military said that it arrested "240+ Hamas, Islamic Jihad terrorists" in the hospital.
Hamas has denied there was any armed presence in the hospital from any Palestinian factions, saying Israel was lying to justify storming the hospital.
Several medical staff were burned alive in fires set off during Israel's raid on the medical facility, and patients and medics were stripped down before being forced out of the hospital on foot.
The Kamal Adwan Hospital was the last large medical facility that remained functioning in northern Gaza before the raid.
Hospitals and medical facilities are considered protected sites during wartime under international law, however, Israel has repeatedly attacked hospitals in Gaza throughout its war on the besieged enclave.
📍𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗽: 𝗛𝗮𝗺𝗮𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗞𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝗱𝘄𝗮𝗻 𝗛𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) December 28, 2024
• 240+ Hamas, Islamic Jihad terrorists and other operatives suspected of terrorist activities were apprehended, some of whom attempted to pose as… pic.twitter.com/2oOCbeAsyQ