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Al-Shifa Hospital’s Terror Links Ignored as Its Director Released From Israeli Prison
November 2023: An Israeli soldier helps to provide incubators to Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza. Photo: Screenshot
Many are up in arms about the director of Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital, Dr. Mohammed Abu Salmiya , being released from Israeli prison on Monday.
There wasn’t a question of why he was detained in the first place. Instead, it was clear to all that the IDF raided the hospital based on correct intelligence, and because Hamas weas operating inside and underneath Gaza’s largest hospital.
But when international media outlets picked up on the story of the release, the focus shifted to the alleged torture prisoners claimed to have endured over the last several months. In tandem, IDF proof that Al-Shifa Hospital was a confirmed Hamas location was often ignored, creating the perception that the IDF raided a hospital and arrested doctors without cause.
While this CNN report starts with a reunion of released detainees with their families in Gaza, reporter Nada Bashir quickly moves on to discuss the alleged torture they endured at the hands of Israeli security personnel and prison guards.
Just before she brings in Abu Salmiya to the story, she questions the legitimacy of the detainees’ arrests: “Why they were detained in the first place, we may never know.”
We do know.
These people were suspected of aiding and abetting Hamas terrorists and their activities in a civilian area — for instance, a hospital — and the IDF had every right to investigate. Did Bashir miss the memo? How could she not know?
Abu Salmiya is specifically responsible as the hospital’s director for allowing — or turning a blind eye to — Hamas operating inside and underneath the hospital. Bashir chooses to brush over this minute detail, most likely to fit a narrative.
That’s obvious since during the entire report, she neglects to mention al-Shifa’s role in Hamas’ war against Israel, and instead presents a personal story of poor, allegedly-beaten doctors who were detained for no reason by Israel.
The New York Times covered this similarly, claiming that Israel took Abu Salmiya into custody in November “as he took part in an effort to evacuate patients from the hospital, which at the time was under siege by the Israeli military.”
This is noteworthy since they conducted their own investigation into al-Shifa Hospital in February:
While @nytimes can’t understand why the director of al-Shifa Hosptial could possibly have been detained by Israel “as he took part in an effort to evacuate patients from the hospital,” here’s a reminder of what The Times itself reported in February: https://t.co/UvKmhEhJvq pic.twitter.com/yAtqI2JEkX
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) July 2, 2024
Indeed, Abu Salmiya was detained and investigated with cause, under suspicion of allowing Hamas to use the hospital as its headquarters. In December, he even had three hearings, according to The Jerusalem Post. What the Post report does say, however, is that “an indictment was never produced.” [emphasis added]
The Guardian went so far as to say that the IDF “alleged” there was an “elaborate” Hamas command center, and then completely understated IDF discoveries underneath al-Shifa, claiming that the IDF raided the hospital without supportive evidence of intelligence. This, in addition to highlighting the abuse of Abu Salmiya and other released prisoners allegedly experienced:
When Israel raided al-Shifa Hospital in November, the IDF uncovered a tunnel likely connecting to the larger tunnel network used by Hamas in Gaza City, and included underground bunkers, living quarters, and a room that appeared to be wired for computers & communications… pic.twitter.com/SwFyohexzQ
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) July 2, 2024
It’s also appalling that The Washington Post continues to attempt to dispel proof that Hamas was operating out of al-Shifa Hospital, and to claim that any weapons found or video footage of hostages inside the hospital were merely circumstantial evidence.
Actually, as we noted at the time, @washingtonpost‘s “investigation” was “nothing more than a (un)sophisticated hit piece that omits important context” & the reporting was “neither groundbreaking nor conclusive. It’s simply a lazy attempt to vilify Israel and absolve Hamas.” 1/2 https://t.co/MGYUgVktKg pic.twitter.com/sXekreQkN0
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) July 2, 2024
HonestReporting debunked The Washington Post’s investigation back in December.
Did the IDF raid al-Shifa and arrest the hospital director for no reason? Perhaps the better question here is: why would any respectable media outlet risk their credibility by choosing not to be transparent with their readers?
The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.
The post Al-Shifa Hospital’s Terror Links Ignored as Its Director Released From Israeli Prison first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.