Day 5
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Day 5 ✩
Dr.Adnan Al-Bursh
This week our hearts are breaking watching Israel storm, raid, and burn down Kamal Adwan Hospital, the last remaining hospital in northern Gaza. Today we share the story of Dr Adnan al-Bursh, Head of Orthopaedics at al-Shifa Hospital.
When al-Shifa Hospital was raided and medical staff forced to leave at gunpoint in Nov 2023, Dr Adnan al-Bursh refused to abandon his patients. Instead he went to the Indonesian hospital in northeastern Gaza, and when that was also raided, he moved to al-Awda hospital in Jabalia – the place of his birth.
A few weeks later Israeli forces raided this hospital too, and al-Bursh was detained along with other medical staff. He was first held captive at Sde Teiman military base detention centre – where unimaginable violence has been documented – and then Ofer prison near Jerusalem. He died shortly after his arrival there in April 2024, from injuries sustained over months of brutal torture by occupation soldiers.
Torture is routine in Israeli detention. The UN Special Rapporteur has stated “Torture practices form part of the modus operandi of Israel’s notorious detention system”.
The detention of healthcare workers in Gaza is also part of what the WHO has called a “systematic dismantling of the health system”. Health facilities and ambulances have been repeatedly attacked, raided, and bombarded. Doctors, nurses and paramedics who have survived Israeli detention have told of being humiliated, severely beaten, and put in blindfolds and handcuffs for prolonged periods of time.
Last year Israel tirelessly pushed to cover their deliberate bombing of Al Mamadani hospital, Joe Biden intervened to make up the cover, but now they are not only bombing hospital, they are arresting and torturing medical staff; the question we need to be asking, how long can we be committed to stop Israel from getting away with what they have done?
Despite knowing the risks to his own life, Dr al-Bursh did everything to keep saving lives. He filmed and documented Israeli attacks on hospitals, in one video saying: "Despite the pain, we are steadfast."
This week dozens of medical staff from Kamal Adwan Hospital have been taken captive. Some have been released, but the fate of many including director Hussam Abu Safia remains unknown.
Sources:
https://www.instagram.com/channel4news/reel/C6hHXUZL8RY/
https://healthcareworkerswatch.org/
https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/08/26/israel-palestinian-healthcare-workers-tortured