GAZA CITY, Palestine

The Israeli army detained the director of Palestinian Civil Defense during a raid into the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza on Friday, according to an official statement.

The Israeli army detained the director of the Civil Defense Station in Jabalia, Said Shubeir, and firefighter Ramadan Al-Aqra, the civil defense said in a statement, adding that they were taken to an unknown location.

Earlier, the Health Ministry said that it lost contact with the health staff in Kamal Adwan Hospital following the Israeli army's incursion.

The Israeli army detained dozens of Palestinians evacuated from the hospital, forcing them to strip down to their boxer shorts and gather in an open area in cold weather.

On Wednesday, the civil defense said it went out of service in northern Gaza under the Israeli attacks and deliberate targeting of its teams, vehicles and equipment.

On Oct. 5, the Israeli army attacked northern Gaza, claiming it was to “prevent Hamas from regaining strength in the area.” However, Palestinians say Israel seeks to occupy the area and forcibly displace its residents.

Israel has continued a devastating offensive on Gaza since an attack in October last year by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

More than 42,800 people have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 100,500 others injured, according to local health authorities.

The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the territory’s entire population amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar