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SvennoJ on 10 January 2025
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Israel releases Nasser Hospital’s orthopaedics department chief

Mahmoud Abu Shahada, the head of the orthopaedics department at Nasser Hospital, has been released, lawyer Khaled Zabarqa has told our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic, after an appeal was filed with the Israeli Supreme Court.

He was subjected to torture and harsh treatment at the hands of the military after being arrested during a raid on Nasser Hospital, in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis.

The Institute for Palestine Studies, which documents the killing and arrest of medical workers in Gaza, said he was detained on February 17 last year.

Zabarqa said Abu Shahada was kept under arrest despite it being clear that he had not taken part in fighting in Gaza.

The Palestinian Information Center has posted a video of what it says shows Abu Shahada’s reunion with his mother following his release.

Translation: The moment Dr. Mahmoud Abu Shahada met his mother after 11 months of detention in the occupation prisons, as he was arrested during the storming of Nasser Medical Complex, in the Gaza Strip, months ago.

 

Israeli court extends detention of Kamal Adwan Hospital director

The detention without charge of Hussam Abu Safia, director of Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital, has been extended until February 13 by the Ashkelon Magistrates Court, the Gaza-based human rights organisation Al Mezan Center for Human Rights says.

“This marks the second such extension since his arrest,” the organisation noted. Abu Safia was also denied access to a lawyer until January 22.

Abu Safia was arrested on December 27 during an Israeli raid on the medical facility in northern Gaza’s Beit Lahiya. He was later reported to be held at Sde Teiman, a military detention centre where human rights organisations have documented systematic torture against Palestinians.

Al Mezan said its lawyer received indications that Abu Safia may now be held in Ofer Prison, in the occupied West Bank.

“The arbitrary detention of Dr Abu Safiya and his colleagues is part of a broader pattern of systematic violations by Israel, aimed at the deliberate devastation of Gaza’s healthcare system,” it said in a statement.