Israel-Hamas: UK charity says doctor in charge of its partner hospital in Gaza has been arrested by Israeli military

Dr Ahmed Muhanna spoke out last week about how the hospital was under siege

A UK charity has said the doctor in charge of its partner hospital in Gaza has been arrested by the Israeli military.

ActionAid said Dr Ahmed Muhanna, manager of its Al-Awda hospital in northern Gaza, had been taken to an unknown location by Israeli troops. The charity said it was “alarmed” by the news and called for his immediate release.

The charity said other staff members at the hospital were also detained before being released.

Palestinians prepare to sell wood in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, amid continuing battles between Israel and the militant group Hamas.

Riham Jafari, advocacy and communications co-ordinator at ActionAid Palestine, said: “It is coming up to two weeks that staff and patients have been trapped inside Al-Awda hospital. The situation is incredibly dire and unless this siege ends soon, patients will start to die and staff will begin to starve. We’re deeply shocked that Dr Ahmed Muhanna, the manager of the hospital, has been detained and call for him to be released immediately. Saving lives is not a crime.

“Hospitals should be safe havens, but from the north to south in Gaza they have become disaster zones. Entire wards have been reduced to rubble, and injured patients are having to undergo operations on the corridor floors. Heroic staff are continuing to treat people as best they can, but there is little they can do without medicines, blood transfusions and the fuel to power life-saving equipment."

One of the last functioning hospitals in the north of Gaza, the Al-Awda hospital has been under siege for more than 12 days now, with snipers surrounding the hospital and people unable to leave or enter.

There are 92 healthcare workers, 38 patients and 40 people accompanying patients trapped inside the building, and the charity says supplies are running dangerously low.

The arrest of Dr Muhanna follows the detention of Ahmed Al-Kahlout, director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital, and Muhammad Abu Salmiya, director of Al-Shifa hospital.

Dr Muhanna spoke out last week about his staff’s attempts to continue to treat patients as the facility was surrounded by snipers. He said they were avoiding windows in fear of being hit by stray bullets.