KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel released the director of Gaza’s main hospital on Monday, seven months after the army raided the facility amid accusations that it was being used as a Hamas command post.
The release of Mohammed Abu Selmia without charge or trial raised new questions about Israel’s allegations regarding Shifa Hospital, which has been attacked twice by Israeli forces since the start of the nearly nine-month war with Hamas.
Abu Selmia said he and other prisoners had been tortured and held in harsh conditions, allegations that could not be independently confirmed but were consistent with other accounts of Palestinian prisoners released back into Gaza.
“Our prisoners are subjected to all kinds of torture behind bars,” he said. “Torture was almost daily. Cells are broken into and prisoners are beaten.” He said guards broke his finger and made his head bleed during beatings using batons and dogs.
He said medical staff at several facilities where he was held had also participated in the abuse, “in violation of all laws.” He said some prisoners had had limbs amputated due to poor medical care.
Israeli officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment on why he was released or his allegations of abuse. Prison authorities have previously denied such mistreatment of inmates.
Two far-right ministers in the Israeli government condemned Abu Selmia’s release, saying it was carried out without their consent.
Israeli forces raided Shifa Hospital in November, claiming that Hamas had created an elaborate command and control center inside the facility. Abu Selmia and other staff denied the allegations and accused Israel of recklessly endangering thousands of patients and displaced people sheltering there.
The military discovered a tunnel under Shifa Hospital leading to a few rooms, as well as other evidence that militants were present in the medical center, but the evidence fell short of what it had claimed before the raid.
Abu Selmia was arrested on November 22 while leading a UN-led evacuation of patients from the hospital. He said his detention was “politically motivated,” adding that he had been taken to court at least three times but was never charged or allowed to meet with lawyers.
Israel has since raided several other hospitals in Gaza on similar charges, forcing them to close or drastically reduce services, even as tens of thousands have been injured in Israeli attacks or fallen ill in the harsh conditions of the war. The army carried out a second raid in Shifa earlier this year, causing extensive destruction after saying militants had regrouped there.
Hospitals could lose their protection under international law if fighters use them for military purposes.
Israel launched its offensive after Hamas’ attack on October 7, in which Palestinian militants killed about 1,200 civilians and took another 250 hostage. More than 37,800 Palestinians have been killed in the war, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which does not say how many were civilians or fighters.
Most of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have fled, many displaced multiple times. Israeli restrictions, continued fighting and the breakdown of law and order have hampered the delivery of humanitarian aid, fueling widespread hunger and fear of famine.
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Magdy reported from Cairo.
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Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Gaza at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
