UPDATE - Several journalists detained by Israeli forces at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza

UPDATES WITH DETAILS

By Anadolu staff

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - The Israeli army on Monday arrested several journalists at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, according to witnesses.

“They were brutally beaten by Israeli forces, blindfolded and taken into custody,” an eyewitness told Anadolu.

The Qatar-based Al Jazeera television confirmed that its correspondent Ismail Al-Ghoul was among the detained journalists.

Gaza’s government media office held the Israeli army and the US administration fully responsible for the safety of the detained journalists.

“We appeal to the International Federation of Journalists and all international and Arab organizations to condemn the ongoing Israeli crimes against journalists, media professionals, and media outlets working in Palestine,” it added in a statement.

According to Palestinian figures, at least 135 journalists have been killed in Israel’s ongoing offensive in the Gaza Strip since last October.

Early Monday, the Israeli army announced that its forces stormed the Al-Shifa Hospital, which houses thousands of ill and wounded patients, as well as displaced people.

According to Israeli public broadcaster KAN, around 80 Palestinians were detained from inside the facility.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on Gaza since a cross-border incursion by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed nearly 1,200 people.

More than 31,700 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in the enclave, and nearly 73,800 others injured, besides mass destruction, displacement and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of most food, clean water and medicine, while 60%of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul