By Abdul Salam Fayez
GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - The Israeli army has detained Ahmed al-Kahlout, the director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital, along with all medical staff inside the facility, the Gaza-based Health Ministry said on Tuesday.
The Israeli forces subjected the medical staff to “interrogation under threat inside the emergency department of the hospital,” said ministry spokesperson, Ashraf al-Qudra.
The army on Tuesday stormed the Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip after besieging it for several days, according to al-Qudra.
The Israeli army assembled Palestinian men, including the health staff, in the hospital courtyard, he said, expressing fear that they would be “arrested or liquidated.”
"We urge the UN, World Health Organization and Red Cross to act immediately to save the people inside the hospital and to protect them,” al-Qudra said.
On Monday, Gaza’s Health Ministry said the Israeli army slapped a siege on the hospital in Beit Lahia city.
Israel has bombarded the Gaza Strip from the air and land, imposed a siege and mounted a ground offensive in retaliation for a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7.
At least 18,412 Palestinians have been killed and 50,100 others injured in the Israeli onslaught since then, according to Gaza’s health authorities.
The Israeli death toll in the Hamas attack stood at 1,200, while nearly 139 hostages remained in captivity, according to official figures.
*Writing by Mohammad Sio