JERUSALEM: Israel has freed the director of the Gaza Strip’s largest hospital, who had been held for more than seven months, and dozens of Palestinian prisoners who were returned to the besieged territory on Monday for treatment.
The news of his release was confirmed on social media by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and a medical source in the Gaza Strip.
Al-Shifa director Mohammed Abu Salmiya was detained in November.
Subsequent airstrikes have left the hospital where he worked largely in rubble since Israel launched its assault on Gaza on October 7 following Hamas attacks on southern Israel.
Salmiya and the other released prisoners crossed the border into Israel and returned to the Gaza Strip just east of Khan Yunus, a medical source at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir El-Balah said.
Five of the detainees were admitted to Al-Aqsa Hospital, while the rest were transferred to hospitals in Khan Yunus, the source added.
An AFP correspondent in Deir El-Balah saw emotional meetings between some prisoners and their families.
The Israeli military said it was “verifying” reports of prisoners being released.
However, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir confirmed the release, writing on X, formerly Twitter, that the release of Salmiya “along with dozens of other terrorists is an abandonment of security principles.”
Israel has accused Hamas of using Gaza hospitals as a cover for military operations and infrastructure.
The militant group that has ruled the territory since 2007 denies the accusations.
In May, Palestinian human rights groups reported that senior surgeon Al-Shifa had died in an Israeli prison after being detained. The Israeli military said it had no knowledge of the death.
According to AFP calculations based on Israeli data, the war began on October 7 with a Hamas attack that killed 1,195 people, mostly civilians.
In the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, at least 37,877 people, mostly civilians, were killed in Israel’s retaliatory offensive, according to health ministry data.