Israel has released Mohammad Abu Salmiya, the director of Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital, after more than seven months in detention, following his controversial arrest in November last year.
On Monday, Israel freed Mohammad Abu Salmiya, the director of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, after holding him in detention for over seven months. His arrest and prolonged detention had drawn significant criticism both within Israel and internationally.
Dr. Abu Salmiya was detained by Israeli forces in late November while accompanying a United Nations convoy that was evacuating patients from the hospital to southern Gaza. His convoy was stopped at an Israeli checkpoint, and he was taken into custody. At the time, the Israeli military claimed that under Dr. Abu Salmiya’s management, Al-Shifa Hospital had served as a Hamas command center — a charge that hospital officials have consistently denied.
Following his release, Dr. Abu Salmiya addressed reporters outside Al-Shifa Hospital, expressing that he and other detainees, including doctors and health ministry staff, had suffered torture during their detention. He stated that he had faced no formal charges, despite undergoing multiple trials that resulted in no indictments.
Dr. Abu Salmiya’s release stirred political tension in Israel, particularly among critics of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the situation. Benny Gantz, a former senior member of the war cabinet who resigned last month, criticized the release as a “moral and ethical operational error,” suggesting it was done to allocate resources for other Palestinian detainees.
The Shin Bet, Israel’s domestic intelligence agency, issued a statement indicating that the release was part of a strategy to clear incarceration space for other detainees considered to pose a lesser threat.
The initial raid on Al-Shifa Hospital in November had intensified the hospital’s symbolic significance amid the ongoing conflict. Many Palestinians viewed the raid as evidence of Israel’s disregard for civilian life, while some Israelis perceived the hospital as being exploited by Hamas for military purposes. The Israeli military had alleged that Hamas had constructed a command center beneath the hospital, although this claim has been met with denials from Hamas and hospital authorities.
An investigation by The New York Times found indications that Hamas might have used the hospital grounds for cover and possibly for storing weapons, but definitive evidence of a command center remained elusive. Subsequent Israeli military operations in March caused extensive damage to the hospital, and numerous casualties were reported.
The Gaza health ministry has called for the release of all detained medical workers, condemning their arrests as unjust acts against those providing medical care.
The developments around Dr. Abu Salmiya’s detention and release underscore the complex and contentious nature of the conflict, reflecting broader tensions between security concerns and humanitarian considerations.
