Surveillance of healthcare workers – Palestine
RAMALLAH, West Bank — It's been two days since Dr. Khaled Alser's family and colleagues have heard from him.
On Thursday, Israeli forces surrounded Nasser Hospital, where he worked. Israeli forces opened fire before entering the hospital, killing one patient and wounding six.
For three weeks, Nasser Hospital did not have the resources to send patients to other hospitals for specialized treatment. So Serr, a general surgeon, had to use WhatsApp to ask specialist colleagues for surgical guidance.
On Thursday, Khaled's message to them grew increasingly serious. He wrote that no one can enter the ICU and the backup ventilators could soon be turned off, putting the lives of six patients on ventilators at risk.
He sent a video of an intensive care unit patient who died after the electricity was cut off.
“And another six patients await the same fate,” he said. That was his last communication with his colleagues.
By Saturday evening, enthusiastic colleagues from the groups Healthcare Workers Watch – Palestine, Gaza Medic Voices and Health Workers 4 Palestine had issued statements.
“We are deeply concerned by the Israeli military's kidnapping and illegal detention of Khaled Al Serr. We demand his immediate release,” it said, sharing Serr's messages, photos and videos.
Serr's dedication to his patients is also described.
Surveillance of healthcare workers – Palestine
“For almost a month, we have been consulting on cases where Khaled performed complex surgeries outside his area of expertise. Even with little medical supplies and bullets ricocheting around the operating room, he risked life and limb to save the patient. put at risk.”
Gaza's health ministry said Saturday that Israeli forces had detained a number of medical staff at Nasser Hospital. Israeli forces have detained medical staff before.
NPR reached out to the Israeli military for information about the medical staff detained at the hospital and asked specifically whether Ser was detained, but did not receive a response.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement Friday that it was “gravely alarmed” by the descriptions of chaos at Nasser Hospital.
“Hospitals are the backbone of the health system in southern Gaza and must remain functional. Health facilities in the south do not have the capacity to accommodate more patients,” WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic told a UN news conference on Friday.
Hospitals are protected under the international laws of war, but lose that protection if they are used by military or armed forces as a base of operations.
Hospital as a Refuge
Nasser Hospital is located in Khan Younis, southern Gaza. Another major hospital there, Al-Amal, was also raided by Israeli forces said to be looking for Hamas militants, leaving Nasser Hospital as the only port of call for many patients.
Moreover, as the war between the Israeli army and Hamas intensified, thousands of Palestinian refugees sought refuge there and in other hospitals and were subsequently evacuated.
The Israeli military said it raided Nasser Hospital on October 7 based on intelligence that the bodies of some of the people kidnapped by Hamas may be there.
According to the Gaza Strip's Health Ministry, Israeli forces have killed nearly 29,000 Palestinians since the current conflict began. Hamas carried out an attack in Israel on October 7, killing over 1,200 people, sparking a war, and taking hostages to the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli military denied in a statement Friday that it had damaged the generator or cut off power. The military also said it repaired damaged generators and helped a UN convoy deliver aid to hospitals. However, Gaza's health ministry claimed the hospital was still without power on Saturday morning.
The Israeli military said it had found Hamas fighters and weapons at the hospital, although no hostages' remains had yet been found.