Aileen Moreton-Robinson

So in a new twist, the IDF now acknowledges detaining Dr. Hussam Abu Safiyyah, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, insisting he is investigated for links with Hamas. Please join @amnesty in calling for Dr. Hussam to be granted access to a lawyer and his family, and for his release. A few facts on Dr. Hussam Kamal Adwan hospital was raided previously in December 2023, with several medical staff arbitrarily detained and disappeared. Back then, Dr. Hussam was interrogated briefly. At the time, not a single Israeli source accused Dr. Hussam of anything. After the initial raid on Kamal Adwan, which put the hospital out of service, Dr. Hussam and other staff managed, with the support of international organizations, to get the hospital to function again. It played an indispensable role in treating children suffering from malnutrition and dehydration-related issues. The hospital also received those wounded from a series of Israeli attacks on starving people as they waited for flour trucks, known as flour massacres. Between the months of February 2024-September 2024, Dr. Abu Safiya was the go-to source for human rights and humanitarian organizations investigating the situation of the healthcare sector in north Gaza and the impact of the mixture of disease and hunger on children in particular, providing accurate, non-sensationalist and credible information, coordinating with international health organisations , providing media briefings, all whilst obviously working as a dedicated pediatrician. The only time even the Israeli army brought up the Hamas link was following his disappearance last Friday. They told journalists this morning 03/01 that "Hussam Abu Sufaya was apprehended for suspected involvement in terrorist activities, and for holding a rank in the Hamas terror organization, while hundreds of Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists were hiding inside the Kamal Adwan Hospital under his management. He is currently being investigated by Israeli security forces." Dr. Abu Safiya’s unlawful detention is emblematic of the broader attacks on the healthcare sector in Gaza and Israel’s attempts to annihilate it. It is part and parcel of Israel's genocidal intent and genocidal acts - meant to inflict conditions of life CALCULATED TO BRING ABOUT DESTRUCTION OF PALESTINIANS. Dr. Abu Safiya has been acting as a leading voice for the healthcare sector in the north of Gaza since October 2024 and refusing to abandon the hospital and his patients. He has stood against Israel's genocidal act and his arrest along with that of 100s of Palestinian medical staff further provides evidence of genocidal intent. None of the medical staff abducted by Israeli forces since November 2023 from Gaza during raids on hospitals and clinics has been charged or put before a trial; those released after enduring unimaginable torture were never charged and did not stand trial. Those still detained remain held without charges or trial under inhumane conditions and at risk of torture.