ATHENS

Medical charity Doctor Without Borders, also known by its French acronym MSF, on Friday expressed concern about the wellbeing of one of its staffers who remains in Israeli detention for three weeks.

"We are deeply concerned about our staff member who was detained at a checkpoint by Israeli forces while trying to leave Nasser hospital in Gaza on 15 February," the humanitarian organization said in a statement.

"Israeli authorities confirmed he is in their custody. We call on them to treat him with dignity & ensure his wellbeing."

Israel launched a destructive military campaign in the Gaza Strip in response to the Oct. 7 attack by Palestinian group Hamas, which killed 1,200 people and abducted about 250.

Over 30,000 Palestinians have since been killed, majority of the 2.3 million population has been displaced and many are starving amid a worsening humanitarian catastrophe. Despite international outcry, Israeli forces have also attacked health centers and hospitals in the besieged enclave.

Israel now plans to launch a ground invasion in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, with Premier Benjamin Netanyahu asserting that the army "will continue to operate against all of Hamas's battalions throughout the Strip – and this includes Rafah, Hamas's last stronghold."

"Whoever tells us not to operate in Rafah, is telling us to lose the war – and that will not happen," he said on Thursday.