The former head of the orthopedics department of the largest hospital in Gaza died in a prison in Israel

The Israeli prison service confirmed the death of the “prisoner detained for national security reasons”, stating that Al-Bursh died in Ofer prison in the West Bank. No details were given on the cause of death, but “the incident is under investigation”.

Palestinian prisoner advocacy groups said in a joint statement on Thursday, May 2, that Dr. Al-Bursh’s death was an “assassination” and that his body remained in Israeli custody.

Al-Shifa Hospital director Dr. Marwan Abu Saada said he had information that Al-Bursh “was tortured and killed.” CNN could not independently verify the claim, also made by the deceased’s family, that the orthopedist, who had two children, was tortured in detention.

Dr. Al-Bursh was the head of the orthopedics department at Gaza’s largest medical facility, Al-Shifa hospital, which has been attacked several times by the Israeli armed forces. The IDF claimed that terrorists were hiding inside the medical unit, but also in its basements. “Hamas uses hospitals as centers for terrorism,” the Israeli military charged.

He was temporarily working at Al-Awada hospital in northern Gaza when he was detained on December 14 by Israeli forces. According to the family, Dr. Al-Bursh had the option of fleeing and taking refuge in the shelters in Jabalya, but “he was determined to continue working.”

“It’s rare to meet a person like him in your life, this doctor worked with dedication and error, he made huge efforts without thinking about his own person,” his colleague Suhail Matar told the BBC’s Gaza Lifeline Arabic.

Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the West Bank and Gaza, said she was “extremely alarmed” by the news of Dr. Al-Bursh’s death and called on the diplomatic community to take concrete steps to protect Palestinians.

The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said Dr. Al-Bursh’s death brought the total number of medical workers killed by Israel since the Oct. 7 attack to 496. Another 1,500 were wounded, while 309 were arrest.

The medical facilities are protected under international law, but Israel says Hamas is using them as cover for military operations.

Photo: video capture

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