GAZA, (PIC)
Dr. Adnan Al-Bursh (50 years old) didn’t abandon his place and mission in saving the casualties of the Israeli genocidal war in Gaza until his arrest last December from Al-Awda Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip. It was announced a couple of days ago that he was martyred in Israeli prisons due to torture.
According to the Commission of Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner Society, Al-Bursh, head of the orthopedic department at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, was tortured to death in the Israeli Ofer detention center on April 19th, during interrogation sessions. His body remains detained by the Israeli occupation forces until now. Five months ago, Dr. Al-Bursh was injured in an Israeli airstrike at Indonesian Hospital.
The martyrdom of Dr. Al-Bursh and the young man Ismail Khader (33 years old) reflects the brutality faced by Palestinian prisoners detained from Gaza, as they endure horrendous torture and forced disappearance. The Hebrew Haaretz newspaper previously reported deaths due to torture and cases of amputation of Palestinian prisoners.
Dr. Al-Bursh gained recognition during the siege of Shifa Hospital in November, where Israeli forces forced medical staff to leave under threat of arms, after making arrests, and killing and wounding many of the sick, medical staff, and displaced alike.
On November 18th, after leaving Shifa Hospital in Gaza, Dr. Al-Bursh emotionally cried during an interview with Al Jazeera, as he was forced to leave his patients without care. He said at the time, “We fulfilled our duty to the best of our capability.”
Dr. Al-Bursh did not surrender but continued his humanitarian mission in treating the wounded at the Indonesian Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip, where he was also wounded during Israeli shelling.
When the occupation soldiers raided the Indonesian Hospital, Al-Bursh was forced to relocate for the third time to Al-Awda Hospital nearby in the Tel al-Zaatar area, where he was arrested after the Israeli forces stormed the hospital, arresting and injuring those inside, as well as killing a large number of wounded and displaced individuals.
Since then, there has been no news about Dr. Al-Bursh, despite all attempts to determine his fate. Until his martyrdom due to torture in Ofer detention center was announced two days ago.
Who is Adnan Al-Bursh?
Dr. Adnan Al-Bursh is the head of the orthopedic department at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza and the head of the medical department at the Palestinian Football Association.
Al-Bursh was born in Jabalia in northern Gaza in 1974 and received his education there before traveling to study medicine in Romania.
Al-Bursh obtained the Palestinian and Jordanian board certifications in orthopedic and joint surgery, the British fellowship in complex fractures, and finally, a master’s degree in political science from Al-Azhar University in Gaza.
Intentional assassination
The Commission of Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner Society affirm that what happened to Al-Bursh in particular is a deliberate assassination as part of the systematic targeting of doctors in Gaza and the healthcare system. This includes the aggression launched by the occupation army on Al-Shifa Hospital, targeting its medical staff, resulting in the complete destruction of the hospital and its conversion into a graveyard where hundreds were martyred and detained.
The commission and the society mourned the martyrs Khader and Al-Bursh, who joined the martyrs of Palestine along the path of freedom.
They stated, “With the loss of Dr. Al-Bursh, we lost a scientific, militant, and national figure, who remained at his post until the last moment before his arrest, moving from one hospital to another to treat the wounded until he was arrested.”
Martyred prisoners
With the martyrdom of Al-Bursh and Khader, the number of martyred prisoners who ascended in Israeli prisons and detention camps due to torture, medical crimes, and starvation policies rose to 18, including those whose martyrdom was announced and their identities revealed, except for a martyr from Gaza whose identity was not disclosed since October 7th last year.
It is believed that the number of martyred prisoners from Gaza is higher. Earlier, the Israeli media revealed, through newspaper reports, that at least 27 detainees from Gaza were martyred in Israeli prisons and detention camps.
Forced disappearance
The commission and the society warned that with the continuation of the crime of forcible disappearance against Gaza detainees, the number of martyrs among them would increase, in light of testimonies of torture and monstrous crimes reflected in the accounts of released detainees. Additionally, the clear signs of torture on their bodies, along with the photos and videos published by the occupation soldiers during ground invasions, depicting horrifying scenes of the naked arrest of hundreds from Gaza under conditions devoid of human dignity, are sufficient indicators of the severity and magnitude of the crimes committed against them.
The available data on Gaza detainees remains scarce, concerning their identities, places of detention, and their numbers. The only information provided by the Israeli prison administration about them is termed as “unlawful combatants,” with their number announced until the beginning of April as 849.
It is worth noting that a group of released detainees from Ofer prison pointed out that Gaza detainees are held in a section called 23 and spoke of the ongoing torture and humiliation they endure over time. This is evidenced by the sounds emanating from the section and the continuous raids by heavily armed suppression forces and police dogs.
The committee and the society reiterated their demands to the United Nations and all international institutions to fulfill their responsibilities regarding the crimes committed by the occupation against detainees. Merely publishing reports and testimonies and issuing warnings are not enough. After nearly 7 months of genocide and its continuation, all of this has lost its meaning, with the occupation’s blatant disregard, supported by clear international powers, of the humanitarian community and the voices of freedom advocating for Palestinian rights.
Hamas: Proof of the occupation’s fascism
The Islamic Resistance Movement “Hamas” stated, “Today’s announcement of the martyrdom of two of our people abducted from Gaza in the fascist occupation’s prisons under brutal torture, one of them being Dr. Adnan Al-Bursh, head of the orthopedic department at Al-Shifa Hospital, kidnapped by the occupation while carrying out his duty at Al-Awda Hospital in the north of the Strip, is confirmation of the horrific war crimes continuing against our people and their detained sons, whom the criminal occupation abducted from schools and hospitals to detention centers lacking the most basic human rights. Among them are doctors whose crime was fulfilling their humanitarian duty towards their people, treating the wounded and the sick.”
In a press statement, Hamas added, “These ongoing crimes against thousands of our abducted people require immediate international action to criminalize this Nazi-like behavior, condemn it, force the occupation to disclose their fate, return them to their families, and unleash international justice to hold accountable the leaders of the terrorist entity whose crimes have exceeded all boundaries, without regard for international laws, treaties, or humanitarian norms.”
The Gaza Ministry of Health condemned the murder of Al-Bursh under torture and confirmed that it raises the toll of martyrs from the health sector since the start of the genocide to 492.
Comments
Ahmed Al-Bursh said, “Let tears bid farewell to the best of men. The wound still bleeds with the martyrdom of my cousin Dr. Adnan Al-Bursh, who faithfully fulfilled his duty until his last breath, and his last words were, ‘We die standing, we will not kneel.'”
Adnan Al-Bursh was a medical, scientific, and militant figure in his work, never hesitating to protect the wounded and the sick, a Gazan citizen underlined.
Anas Al-Sharif, Al Jazeera correspondent, wrote on the X platform, “Our beloved doctor, Professor Adnan Al-Bursh, was benevolent and giving to all the people of Gaza, his favor on me personally I will never forget. He was overseeing the condition of my daughter Shaima since birth, as she suffered from a simple dislocation, and he continued to follow her condition for years. We owe this noble man a debt of gratitude. May Alah have mercy on you, Dr. Adnan, and reward you on our behalf and on behalf of our people.”
