Gaza: Palestinian detainees are tortured “day and night” in Israel’s prisons, says the director of al-Shifa Hospital Dr Muhammad Abu Salmiya after his release from eight months’ detention.
Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor expressed fear for the life of Dr Muhammad Abu Salmiya “after a storm of violent reactions in the Israeli government regarding his release”.
The rights group said in a statement the doctor’s life could be in “a serious danger” and warned of “the possibility of re-arresting him or targeting him and killing him directly and deliberately”.
“The release of the director of the medical complex and his colleagues without charges is evidence that the pretexts for storming and destroying the hospital are flimsy arguments,” it said.
“We hold Israel fully responsible for the doctor’s life after launching a wide political and media campaign against him.”
Hamas says the condition of the prisoners released today and their testimony “confirm the criminal behaviour of the [Israeli] occupation”. The international community and the United Nations must protect detainees, it said in a statement.
Hamas also called on the International Committee of the Red Cross to reveal the fate of thousands of Palestinian detainees taken by Israeli forces from Gaza, which it alleged are being hidden in “inhumane conditions”.