Medical staff arrested by Israeli forces at a hospital in northern Gaza on Friday reportedly included staff from a Chicago area health agency that provides care in Gaza.
The group said Mahmoud Roubard, a staff member at MedGlobal, a Rolling Meadows-based nonprofit that provides medical aid to vulnerable people around the world, was attacked by other people around 6 a.m. local time. He was arrested at Kamal Adwan Hospital along with 30 hospital staff. He is also the hospital's nursing director.
MedGlobal said in a statement that it was “gravely concerned” by his arrest and “highlights the extreme danger facing health workers in Gaza.”
“Our colleague Mahmoud is more than just a medical leader. He is a lifeline. His arrest is not only a violation of humanitarian principles, but also a direct threat to essential health care in Gaza,” Medglobal said. Executive Director Joseph Beliveau said in a statement. “MedGlobal unequivocally supports Mr. Mahmoud and calls on the international community to ensure the protection of all health workers, who should never be targeted in any conflict.”
“We have called on the world to open humanitarian corridors to provide essential services, but unfortunately we do not have the resources or supplies to treat people. This is our reality. Every day, every day. Time, we are losing more patients, more injured, more wounded.
There are so many… pic.twitter.com/Ue3QkXFyBq
— MedGlobal (@MedGlobalOrg) October 25, 2024
MedGlobal has sent several Chicago-area doctors to Gaza over the past year, since the Gaza war began on October 7, 2023, when the militant group Hamas attacked Israel.
The attack killed around 1,200 Israelis and sparked Israel's continued siege of Gaza, which killed around 43,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Doctors in Gaza have repeatedly reported dire conditions in hospitals, including shortages of water, food and essential medicines.
MedGlobal said in a statement: “Medical facilities are under continuous siege and attack with missile attacks, and this violent invasion continues to this day, putting doctors and patients at extreme risk.” Ta.
The teenage son of MedGlobal's chief physician in the Gaza Strip, Dr. Hassam Abu Safiyah, was also recently killed in an Israeli airstrike on a refugee camp in northern Gaza, the organization announced. Safiya was also the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital.
MedGlobal continues to call on world leaders for an immediate ceasefire in wars, especially attacks on health workers. He has also consistently implored the US government to end funding for the Israeli military.
In a statement, MedGlobal said it would “maintain essential protections for health workers working in conflict zones and affirm the fundamental principle that health workers are #NotATarget and must be protected under international humanitarian law. He said it was necessary to stop attacks on health workers in order to “do more.”
