Protesters gather in New York in support of Gaza hospital director

NEW YORK

Pro-Palestinian protesters gathered in New York City on Monday to call for the release of a prominent doctor in Gaza arrested by Israeli forces.

The demonstrators, including health care workers, protested outside NYU Tisch Hospital to demand the release of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, who was detained last month.

They carried banners that said "Not another child, Not another hospital," "Gaza forever” and "We are sick from genocide.”

Abu Safiya was detained by Israeli forces along with others during a raid on the hospital on Dec. 27.

In late December, Amnesty International urged Israeli authorities to release him, expressing extreme concern over his wellbeing.

The Israeli army has continued a genocidal war on Gaza that has killed more than 45,800 people, mostly women and children, since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

In November last year, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its deadly war on the enclave.

*Writing by Diyar Guldogan from Washington, D.C.