WHO may have unwittingly, knowingly facilitated Israel's kidnapping of medical staff from Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza: Rights group

By Aysu Bicer and Muhammet Ikbal Arslan

LONDON (AA) - Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor expressed concern Friday about reports that suggested the World Health Organization (WHO) may have knowingly or unknowingly played a role in the kidnapping of senior medical staff from the Al-Shifa Hospital in the Gaza Strip

"We are immensely concerned by reports that WHO may have unwittingly or knowingly facilitated Israel's kidnapping of senior medical staff from Al-Shifa Hospital. WHO promised staff & patients a safe evacuation to the South coordinated with Israel, IDF stopped the convoy & kidnapped some," Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor wrote on X.

"Israeli soldiers stopped the convoy of patients & medical staff for over 7 hours, ill-treated them & arrest some including the director of al-Shifa hospital. This happened after the WHO promised them a safe passage south We call for an immediate investigation into the incident," it added.

WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said at a UN news conference at its Geneva Office that the Israeli army detained Abu Silmiyye, the director of the Al-Shifa Hospital.

"There is no information about his whereabouts at the moment. Do you think it is acceptable to detain a healthcare worker? We will publish a statement on this issue in the coming hours. All the details will be included in the detailed statement," he said.

The Ministry of Health in Gaza announced that it stopped coordination with WHO for the evacuation of patients and medical teams in hospitals in the Gaza Strip after the Israeli army detained health care workers.