Gaza war: Al Shifa hospital chief released, Israel ministers trade blame with Shin Bet

Mohammed Abu Salmiya, the head of the Gaza Strip's biggest hospital, Al-Shifa, was freed on Monday (Jul 1) from more than seven months of detention. Palestinian border officials said that the Israeli authorities released 54 Palestinians who were detained during the war, Salamiya was one of them. After being released, Salmiya alleged that he and other prisoners were put through "severe torture" in Israeli prisons.

Salamiya was arrested by IDF troops during one of the raids on Al-Shifa in Novemberon the suspicion of having allowed Hamas to use the Gaza City hospital as a centre of operations. He was taken for questioning by the Shin Bet as he was attempting to evacuate to the south of the Gaza Strip via an IDF-operated humanitarian corridor.

Israel claimed that the Palestine-based Hamas had been using the hospital for military purposes, which the militant group denies.

The military even released the hospital's CCTV footage from October 7 showing gunmen and hostages on the premises. The military also took journalists into a tunnel found at the complex.

Meanwhile, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir on Monday demanded the ouster of Shin Bet director Ronen Bar, after the releaseof Shifa Hospital director from jail.

Ben Gvir took to X, claiming that the decision to free the hospital director “along with dozens of terrorists” was an act of “security recklessness.”

After a furore over Salamiya’s release, ministers and senior security officials traded blame and sought to avoid responsibility.

As translated by the news agency Reuters, Salmiya said, "We were subjected to severe torture, and my little finger was broken. I was repeatedly subjected to hitting on the head, causing bleeding multiple times."

"There was almost daily torture in the Israeli prisons. When prisoners' cells were raided daily, they were severely beaten every day. We say this with full certainty, and we lived through it with great bitterness," Salamiya said, further adding that no charge had ever been made against him.

He claimed that tens of thousands of prisoners have been left behind. They are living in hardship, experiencing "psychological and physical torture thatno Palestinian prisoner has experienced since the Nakba in 1948". He said no prisoner ate more than a loaf of bread a day for two months.

He also claimed that many prisoners died while they were in interrogation and were deprived of medicine and food.

Is it a 'security abandonment'?

Meanwhile, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir wrote on X that Salmiya's release "with dozens of other terrorists" is a "security abandonment".

“It’s time the prime minister stops [Defence Minister Yoav] Gallant and the Shin Bet chief from carrying out independent policies contradicting the positions of the cabinet,” he added.

As quoted by the news agency AFP, Israel's Shin Bet intelligence agency said it had decided on the release with the Israeli military "to free up places in detention centres".

The agency said it "opposed the release of terrorists" who had taken part in attacks on Israeli civilians "so it was decided to free several Gaza detainees who represent a lesser danger".

Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments on the Israel-Palestine conflict after the Hamas attacks. However, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.

(With inputs from agencies)