Israel faces pressure over detention of Gaza doctor after Kamal Adwan hospital raid
Israel faced mounting pressure Saturday over its detention of Gaza hospital chief Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, during a raid on Kamal Adwan hospital.
Israel faced mounting pressure Saturday over its detention of a Gaza hospital chief during a raid on one of the last functioning medical facilities in the battered north of the Palestinian enclave.
Israel has in recent days confirmed it is holding Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya and defended its assault that shut down Kamal Adwan Hospital, saying that the prominent pediatrician was suspected of "involvement in terrorist activities, and for holding a rank" in Hamas, which it said had made the site a stronghold along with another militant group.
But rights groups and United Nations officials have questioned those claims, which Israel made without providing evidence, urging the U.S. ally to release Abu Safiya or at least disclose his whereabouts as fears grow for his safety.
Concerns for the hospital director's wellbeing come as Israel faces growing scrutiny over a military offensive that the U.N. Human Rights Office said this week had pushed Gaza's healthcare system to “the brink of total collapse.”
Israeli air strikes killed at least 170 people, including several children, in Gaza over the past week and hit an Israeli-declared humanitarian zone, local officials said, deepening the humanitarian crisis in the enclave as it grapples with the effects of a winter under siege.
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