UN chief’s spokesperson extends sympathies to Al Jazeera reporter after arrest
Al Jazeera correspondent Biesan Abu Kwaik has asked UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s spokesperson Farhan Haq about the arrest and beating of Ismail al-Ghoul, an Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent who was taken by Israeli forces outside al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
The pair had the following exchange:
“He was severely beaten,” Abu Kwaik said of al-Ghoul. “He was stripped of his clothing, and then he was taken to an unknown location. Other journalists also were detained, and equipment, broadcast and corporate, was destroyed. Do you have any comments on that?”
“We stand against any harassment of journalists anywhere in the world,” Haq responded. “And certainly we do so in this instance. Our sympathies go to your colleague as well as to all the other journalists who suffered from any violence during the course of this incident.”
Al Jazeera journalist released from Israeli detention
Ismail al-Ghoul, an Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent who was beaten and detained by Israeli troops during their raid of al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, has been freed after 12 hours in Israeli custody.
Ismail al-Ghoul gives interview on his detention by Israeli forces
Al Jazeera Arabic journalist Ismail al-Ghoul has spoken to the channel about his experience in Israeli custody.
He told Al Jazeera after his release that Israeli forces stormed al-Shifa Hospital at dawn during intense fighting. They started by destroying media equipment and arresting journalists gathered in a room used by media teams, he said.
The journalists were stripped of their clothes, he continued, and were arrested and placed in a room inside the medical compound. They were forced to lie on their stomachs as they were blindfolded and their hands tied, he said.
Israeli soldiers would open fire to scare them if there was any movement, al-Ghoul said. After about 12 hours, they were taken for interrogation. After waiting in line for investigation, an elderly man was released from inside the hospital and he needed help to leave the compound, the journalist said, adding that he volunteered to help the man and was able to accompany him until they both left the compound.
Al-Ghoul later heard that some of his colleagues were released but said he does not have enough information about the whereabouts of the rest of his team to confirm any details.
Al Jazeera’s Ismail al-Ghoul just one of many journalists in Gaza targeted by Israel
After speaking to him, I can say [Al Jazeera journalist Ismail al-Ghoul] is doing fine. He had been blindfolded and handcuffed for 12 hours [by Israeli forces] and was taken away for interrogation.
Journalists are one of the main focuses of the Israeli military campaign in Gaza. Ismail has been reporting on Israeli attacks in Gaza since day one of the fighting. He has been able to continue reporting despite all the ongoing efforts by the Israeli military to silence the narrative of Palestinians around the world.
Israeli military says 200 arrested at al-Shifa Hospital
Here are the main points made by Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari during an evening press briefing about today’s operations at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
- We arrested 200 people during the operation in the hospital complex and killed 20 Palestinian fighters.
- A soldier from our forces was killed during the operation in the area.
- We found weapons and money inside the al-Shifa complex.
- We are conducting an investigation of those arrested in the operation, and we call on the Palestinian militants to surrender.
