Israel on Thursday confirmed that the director of Al Shifa Hospital in the Gaza Strip had been held for questioning, Reuters reported, citing the country's military.
The Israeli Army said that the director, Mohammad Abu Salmiya, has been held over evidence that the facility had been used as a command and control centre for Palestinian militant outfit Hamas.
"In the hospital, under his management, there was extensive Hamas terrorist activity," the military said in a statement.
Salmiya, has been frequently quoted by international media about the conditions inside Al-Shifa, a major focus of an Israeli ground offensive following attacks by Hamas on October 7.
Several other medical personnel working at the hospital have also been arrested.
An official in the Hamas-run health ministry told AFP that among those held were Salmiya, one doctor and two nurses.
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Hamas further said it "strongly denounces" the arrest of Salmiya and his colleagues, calling on the International Committee of the Red Cross and other international organisations to work towards their "immediate release".
Israel claims that Hamas operates a command centre in underground tunnels under the Al Shifa hospital for years. On Sunday, the Israeli military published a video of what it described as a tunnel, running 55 metres in length and dug by Palestinians 10 metres under the Shifa compound.
{{/usCountry}}Israel claims that Hamas operates a command centre in underground tunnels under the Al Shifa hospital for years. On Sunday, the Israeli military published a video of what it described as a tunnel, running 55 metres in length and dug by Palestinians 10 metres under the Shifa compound.
{{/usCountry}}Besides Israel, the United States also claims that Hamas has built tunnels below the Al-Shifa complex, which has become a focal point in the war, according to AFP.
The Palestinian militant group and directors at the hospital, however, have denied the charge.
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Israel's raid at the hospital has been criticised by several Arab nations and humanitarian agencies. Before Israel first sent troops into the hospital complex, UN agencies estimated that 2,300 patients, staff and displaced civilians were sheltering at Al-Shifa.
According to AFP, witnesses have described conditions inside the hospital as horrific, with medical procedures performed without anaesthetic, families with scant food or water living in corridors, and the stench of decomposing corpses filling the air.