RAMALLAH, December 29, 2024 (WAFA) – The Ministry of Health strongly condemned and denounced the detention and abuse of the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, Dr. Hussam Abu Safiyya, by the Israeli occupation forces on Saturday.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the Ministry of Health stated that this incident represents another violation of human rights and the rights of health workers, who are on the front lines of protecting citizens' health and providing necessary medical care.

The Ministry condemned this recurring criminal act, calling for the immediate release of the detained doctor and urgent intervention to secure the release of other health workers detained in Israeli prisons.

It also reiterated its urgent appeal for the full protection of all health workers to ensure they can carry out their professional duties in a safe and secure environment.

The Ministry noted that before Dr. Abu Safiyya’s detention, Israeli forces had detained him along with hospital staff and interrogated them for hours. This scene has been repeated in every attack by Israeli forces on medical centers across the southern governorates, it added.

The Ministry emphasized that any assault on doctors or patients, or their detention due to their humanitarian duty in serving citizens, constitutes a violation of their human and professional rights.

Over the past year, Israeli forces have detained more than 310 health workers from various specialties, and approximately 1,060 health workers have been killed, some while being tortured in custody. Hundreds more have been injured, representing a significant loss of skilled personnel and expertise, and a blow to the health system as a whole, the Ministry of Health maintained.

The Ministry affirmed that any threat or attack on doctors or health workers is a threat to public safety and to citizens' right to receive medical care in a secure and stable environment.

T.R.