Cameron to seek answers over abuse of medics claim

The British Government is seeking an “investigation and explanation” into claims that Israel tortured and abused Palestinian medical staff.

A BBC report published yesterday featured testimonies from medics at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza stating that they were stripped, beaten, blindfolded and prevented from treating vulnerable patients, who in some cases died as a result.

The Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron said: “These are very disturbing pictures and reports that have come out from this hospital and we need to get to the bottom of what exactly happened.”

The Foreign Office minister, Andrew Mitchell, told the Commons: “A full explanation and investigation is required and that is what the British Government is pressing for.”

Dr Ahmed Abu Sabha, a Nasser Hospital doctor, told the BBC soldiers cut him with a bottle and broke his hand in detention at a maternity building repurposed as “a torture place”. Other medics said they were beaten with sticks and rifle butts. Footage obtained by the BBC appeared to show rows of semi-naked men with medical robes lined up on the ground.

A spokesperson for the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said suspects were often stripped to check them for weapons and denied allegations of abuse. “Any abuse of detainees is contrary to IDF orders and is therefore strictly prohibited,” they said.

The IDF also claimed to have recovered weapons and vehicles used by Hamas from Nasser Hospital, supporting its claim it was used as a military asset. The UN and Red Cross have called on Israel to cease attacks on hospitals, most of which are no longer functional.

The report contains the latest in a series of allegations of abuse of Palestinian prisoners by Israeli forces during and before the war.