WHO voices concern about al-Shifa chief arrested by Israel

The World Health Organization (WHO) has voiced concern about the fate of the director of al-Shifa Hospital in the Gaza Strip who was detained by Israeli military along with several other senior doctors this week.

In a statement on Friday, the WHO said that Mohammad Abu Salmiya has been arrested along with five other medical staff from the Palestine Red Crescent Society and the Ministry of Health while they were evacuating patients from the hospital as part of a United Nations mission.

The UN agency went on to say that two of the six medical personnel have reportedly been released, but there is no information about the well-being of the four remaining health staff, including Abu Salmiya, calling for “their legal and human rights to be fully observed during their detention.”

Israeli military spokesperson Doron Spielman said on Saturday that Abu Salmiya was being questioned following the regime’s allegations that the hospital houses a “command center” belonging to the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas.

Meanwhile, WHO Spokesperson Christian Lindmeier voiced fears for the safety of those remaining in al-Shifa Hospital, saying the UN agency is “extremely concerned” about the safety of the estimated 100 patients and health workers remaining at the facility.

He also noted that the UN agency is working on further evacuations from northern Gaza hospitals as soon as possible as a truce gets under way in the blockaded enclave.

Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest medical complex in Gaza, has been a major focus of Israel’s offensive since the regime began it was on Gaza on October 7.

The WHO has already described as “desperate” the situation in al-Shifa, saying the medical complex has become a “death zone.”

ME