Israel fires hospital director he says was used as Hamas base, accuses him of abuse in custody

Israel fired the director of Gaza’s main hospital on Monday, seven months after the military raided the facility, accusing it of using it as a Hamas command center.

The release of Mohammed Abu Selmia without charge or trial has raised further questions about Israel’s accusations concerning Shifa Hospital, which has been raided by Israeli forces twice since the beginning of the nearly nine-month war with Hamas.

Abu Selmia said he and other prisoners were tortured and held in harsh conditions. These allegations have not been confirmed by independent sources, but they are consistent with accounts of other Palestinian prisoners who have been released back into the Gaza Strip.

“Our prisoners were subjected to all kinds of torture behind bars,” he said. “There was almost daily torture. Cells were broken into and prisoners were beaten. He said the guards broke his finger and caused his head to bleed during a beating that included batons and dogs.

He said medical staff at various facilities where he was held also engaged in abuses “in violation of all rights.” He added that some detainees had limbs amputated due to poor medical care.

Israeli officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the reasons for his release or the allegations of ill-treatment. Prison authorities have previously denied abusing inmates.

Meanwhile, two far-right ministers in the Israeli government condemned the release of Abu Selmia, saying it was carried out without their consent.

Israeli forces raided Shifa Hospital in November, alleging that Hamas had established a sophisticated command and control center at the facility. Abu Selmia and other workers denied the allegations and accused Israel of recklessly endangering the thousands of patients and displaced persons who had taken refuge there.

The military discovered a tunnel under Shifa Hospital leading to several rooms, as well as other evidence of the presence of militants at the medical center, but the evidence did not match what it claimed before the raid.

Abu Selmia was detained on November 22 while escorting a UN-led evacuation of patients from a hospital. He said his detention was “politically motivated,” adding that he had been brought to court at least three times but had never been charged or allowed to meet with lawyers.

Israel has since raided several other hospitals in Gaza over similar allegations, forcing them to close or drastically reduce services even as tens of thousands were injured in Israeli attacks or fell ill in the harsh conditions of war. Earlier this year, the army invaded Shifa for a second time, causing heavy destruction after it said fighters had regrouped there.

Hospitals may lose protection under international law if combatants use them for military purposes.

Israel launched the offensive following an October 7 Hamas attack in which Palestinian militants killed about 1,200 civilians and took another 250 hostage. According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, the war has killed more than 37,800 Palestinians, although it has not been stated how many of them are civilians and how many are combatants.

Most of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have fled their homes, and many have been displaced multiple times. Israeli restrictions, ongoing fighting and a breakdown in public order have hampered the delivery of humanitarian aid, fueling widespread hunger and raising fears of famine.

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Magdy reported from Cairo.

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