DaysofPal – The director of Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza, Dr. Mohammed Abu Salmiya, has warned that the health situation in the Gaza Strip remains “tragic” despite the cessation of hostilities, stressing the urgent need for special medical care for released prisoners who were subjected to torture and abuse in Israeli jails.
In a statement on Thursday, Abu Salmiya said that no significant progress has been made in restoring health services or providing essential medicines across the Strip. He added that hospitals destroyed by Israel during the war remain completely out of service and that urgent alternatives are needed to ensure continuity of healthcare for Gaza’s population.
The hospital chief revealed that more than 350,000 patients with chronic diseases are currently deprived of treatment due to the ongoing Israeli blockade, warning that rebuilding Gaza’s health sector will require “years and substantial international funding.” He said urgent health sector needs had already been submitted to international organizations.
Abu Salmiya’s remarks come as new testimonies shed light on the harrowing conditions faced by Gaza prisoners released from Israeli detention. The Palestinian Prisoners’ Information Office said many of those freed returned as “emaciated ghosts,” their bodies “exhausted by oppression, hunger, and torture.” Some appeared in wheelchairs or with amputated limbs, bearing visible marks of starvation and systematic abuse.
According to the office, several released prisoners described being beaten continuously for four days, an ordeal Israeli jailers reportedly called a “gift before their release.” One detainee recounted that guards repeatedly struck an old injury, breaking his hand five times.
Others emerged only to learn that their entire families had been killed during Israel’s war on Gaza, “a double tragedy combining physical torment and profound personal loss,” the office said.
The International Foundation for Solidarity with Palestinian Prisoners (IFSP) said recently circulated photos of freed detainees serve as visual proof of war crimes, documenting “gross and systematic violations” that amount to crimes against humanity under international humanitarian law and the Fourth Geneva Convention.
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