Civil defence says north Gaza director arrested by Israeli military
The Palestinian Civil Defence said its director in the north of the war-torn territory, Ahmed Hassan al-Kahlout, has been arrested by the Israeli military.
The organisation, which is responsible for responding to civil emergencies in Gaza, did not provide details on al-Kahlout’s arrest, which comes a day after Israeli troops stormed the Kamal Adwan Hospital, ordering staff and patients to leave and setting fire to parts of the facility.
The arrest is part of Israel’s “destructive approach to the humanitarian and relief work system in the [northern] governorate”, the civil defence said, adding that 22 staff members had already been arrested by Israeli forces and their whereabouts were still unknown. Dozens of staff have also been killed.
Gaza civil defence says three crew members detained
The Israeli army has arrested three fire and rescue officers in northern Gaza, according to a civil defence statement. The statement on Telegram added that they were “forced to leave their work” by the military.
Hundreds in Gaza still subject to forced disappearance: Prisoner’s Society
The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society says hundreds of people remain subject to the crime of forced disappearance by the Israeli military in Gaza, and that the number of people arrested by Israeli forces in the enclave is estimated in the thousands since the beginning of the war.
It said in a statement that dozens of those arrested have been killed as a result of “systematic torture crimes against Gaza detainees at an unprecedented rate”. The organisation said it obtained information from the Israeli military about only 89 people detained in Gaza.
It added that the latest confirmation received from the Israeli side of the number of those arrested came in early December, when the prison administration acknowledged 1,772 people held and classified as “illegal combatants”, including children and women.
