Israel confirms detention of Gaza hospital director Abu Safiya

Israel confirms  detention of Gaza hospital  director Abu Safiya
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The hospital director was  arrested in an Israeli raid last Friday
Israel has confirmed  the detention of Gaza hospital director Dr Hussam Abu Safiya after  he told a local NGO that  he was  not aware of his case,  raising concerns for his  well-being.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) statement said he was  "currently under investigation by Israeli security  forces" personally.
The statement did not offer an explanation for the  mix-up, but  reiterated that he  is suspected of being a  "terrorist" and  has "a rank" in Hamas, the  Palestinian armed group at war with Israel in  Gaza.
Dr. Abu Safiya was arrested as the Israeli military forced patients and medical staff  out of Kamal Adwan  Hospital in northern Gaza last Friday,  claiming the facility was a  "bastion of Hamas terrorists."
On Thursday, the  Israeli military told Physicians for Human Rights  in Israel (PHRI) that  there was "no indication of the arrest or detention of the individual in  question." PHRI filed a petition with  Israel's High Court of Justice on Thursday,  seeking to reveal the whereabouts of Dr. Abu  Safiya. The court gave the  Israeli military one week to  respond to the request.
Amnesty International's director, Agnes Callamard, said Israeli authorities must  "urgently reveal her whereabouts."
She said Israel had detained  "hundreds of Palestinian  health workers from Gaza without charge or  trial" and  that they had been  "subjected to torture and other ill-treatment and held  incommunicado."
Israel denies mistreating  prisoners. Dr Abu  Safija's family told BBC Arabic  that they believe he  was being held at  the Sde Teiman military base in southern Israel, where Israeli forces have taken  several Gaza  prisoners for  interrogation.
Whistleblowers have previously told the BBC and other international media  about the extremely harsh  detention conditions  at the base. Israel said all detainees  were being held there  "with care and  due care".
The Israeli military ordered everyone  at Kamal Adwan  Hospital to leave  the facility on Friday, giving the hospital about 15 minutes to move patients and staff into the courtyard,  it said.
Beit Lahia, where the hospital is located, has been under  an increasingly tight Israeli blockade imposed on parts of northern Gaza since October. The UN said the area  was under  "total siege" after the Israeli military  severely restricted access  for aid deliveries to an area  home to between 10,000  and 15,000  people.
Reuters Palestinians inspect  the damage after Israeli raid  on Kamal Adwan  hospital in the northern Gaza  Strip Reuters
On Saturday, the  Israeli military said it  had captured 240  fighters in Kamal Adwan and said  Dr. Abu Safiya was among  the medical  personnel taken for  questioning.
A video showed him walking towards an Israeli  armored vehicle before being taken for  questioning. An Israeli military  spokesman confirmed the arrest  the same day, saying the doctor had been transferred for  questioning.
Dr. Abu Safiya  had previously  been arrested by Israeli forces during  a previous raid on the hospital in October, but was  released shortly  after. During  this Israeli  operation, Dr. Abu  Safija's 15-year-old son was killed  by a drone strike. Footage later that day showed him  offering funeral prayers for his son in the hospital  courtyard.
Israeli attacks on  health facilities  in Gaza have  drawn growing condemnation.
On Tuesday, the  United Nations Human Rights Office  said Israeli attacks on and around hospitals  had pushed  Gaza's health system  "to the brink of total  collapse" and raised serious concerns about war crimes and crimes against  humanity.
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Israel's mission in Geneva said Israeli forces  were operating in accordance with international law and  "would never target innocent  civilians." Israel launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to the group's unprecedented attack  in southern Israel on October  7, 2023, in which  approximately 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken  hostage.
More than 45,580 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's health  ministry.
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