Injured Gaza Doctor Pleads for Release of Detained Hospital Staff 'Beaten, Insulted' by Israeli Forces

Amid targeted attacks by Israel Defense Forces on the few remaining hospitals in northern Gaza, a seriously injured director at Kamal Adwan Hospital pled from the intensive care unit for the world to intervene and ask Israel to release his detained medical staff, whom he said were taken "in the most barbaric of ways."

"They were beaten, insulted and were forced out in a manner that strips them of their human dignity," said Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya from his hospital bed after an overnight Israeli strike on Sunday. "To this moment, there is no answer regarding their whereabouts and there is no information regarding their fate."

The director added that he was hit by a quadcopter drone, a new weapon the IDF has been using against Palestinians that contain tiny pieces of metal shrapnel that "can barely be seen by the naked eye," and he is in urgent need of care.

"There are six pieces of shrapnel that penetrated the area of the thigh, and I believe they caused a tear in the blood vessels and veins," Abu Safiya continued. "We are in critical need for [Israel] to allow entry of medical and surgical delegations in order for me to get treated and for other people to get treated."

The video was originally shared on X by the Gaza Health Ministry's Director General Dr. Muneer Alboursh, who is a member of Hamas.

Israeli forces continue targeting northern Gaza hospitals like Abu Safiya's, which he said has been attacked daily for the past week, because they claimed Hamas militants are hiding inside them. However, Palestinians, aid workers and media investigations have found the claim to be untrue, as reported by Huff Post.

Abu Safiya's plea came on the heels of a damning report that revealed Israel tortured and raped Dr. Anan Al-Bursh, a revered Palestinian surgeon who was practicing at Al-Awda Hospital in northern Gaza, to death in April after he was detained in December 2023, according to reporting by Sky News.