JERUSALEM 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered an investigation on Monday into the release of the director of al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.

Netanyahu described the release of Dr. Mohammad Abu Salmiya as "a severe mistake and an ethical failure," according to a statement by his office.

The Israeli premier said Abu Salmiya "belongs in prison," accusing him of being responsible for "holding and murdering" Israeli captives in Gaza.

Abu Salmiya was arrested on Nov. 23 along with several medical staffers while traveling from Gaza City to the south of the enclave following an Israeli raid on the hospital.

On Monday, Israel released Abu Salmiya and around 54 Palestinians, including doctors who were detained from Al-Shifa Hospital and other medical facilities during separate military operations over the past months.

Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas.

At least 37,900 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and around 87,000 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Over eight months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar