Israeli special forces abduct director of hospital in Gaza

Israeli special forces have abducted Dr Marwan al-Hams, director of Abu Youssef al-Najjar Hospital and spokesperson for the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza, outside the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) field hospital in the southern part of the enclave.

The Palestinian health ministry said on Monday that Hams, who also oversees field hospitals in the Gaza Strip, was on his way to visit the ICRC facility in northern Rafah when undercover Israeli soldiers opened fire, killing one person and wounding another civilian, before capturing him.

The person killed was a local journalist who had been conducting an interview with al-Hams at the time of the attack.

"This cowardly act targeted one of the most prominent humanitarian and medical voices who has conveyed to the world the pain of starving children, the suffering of wounded patients deprived of medication, and the cries of mothers at hospital gates," the ministry said in a statement.

"It clearly reflects a deliberate intention to silence the truth and obscure the suffering of an entire people enduring one of the worst health and humanitarian disasters."

An ICRC spokesperson said they had admitted and treated patients wounded in the incident and said it was "very concerned about the safety and security" around the field hospital.

'Starving civilians'

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) has meanwhile accused Israel of “starving civilians”, including a million children in Gaza, by blocking vital food and medicine deliveries into the besieged enclave.

Unrwa issued the warning on Sunday, calling on Israel to lift its blockade and allow humanitarian aid to flow freely.

At militarised distribution sites run by the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) Palestinian civilians trying to access food are being shot and killed by the Israeli army.

Since the GHF was set up in late May, nearly 900 people have been killed, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Since Israel broke a six-week ceasefire in March, Israel has maintained a tight blockade on Gaza. Although limited aid has trickled in since late May, supplies accumulated during the truce have run out, pushing the territory into the worst shortages since the war began in October 2023.

The situation is particularly dire for pregnant women and newborns. Doctors Without Borders (MSF) says its clinics are seeing record numbers of malnutrition cases.

“Many babies are being born prematurely due to widespread malnutrition among pregnant women,” said MSF doctor Joanne Perry.

She added that overcrowded neonatal units now have up to five babies sharing a single incubator.

“Wounds are not healing due to protein deficiency. Infections are lingering far longer than normal. This is a full-blown crisis,” said Perry.