Daijiworld Media Network - Gaza
Gaza, Nov 29: A Palestinian nurse from Gaza has alleged that she was kidnapped by an Israel-backed militia and later handed over to Israeli forces, who used her detention to pressure her father during interrogations.
Twenty-two-year-old Tasneem al-Hams was released in Khan Younis on Thursday, nearly two months after she was taken into custody. Speaking to local media, she said she was abducted in early October by members of the Popular Forces, also known as the Abu Shabab gang, a militia condemned by several Palestinian groups for collaborating with Israel and attacking civilians.
Tasneem, who was on duty at a medical facility in Khan Younis when she was taken, said the militia handed her over to Israeli forces east of the city. Her family said she was “arbitrarily detained” while performing her duties as a nurse.
The armed group is led by Yasser Abu Shabab, a convicted drug trafficker with alleged links to the Islamic State. Palestinian factions have labelled the group “traitorous” for its actions against civilians and its role in aiding Israel.
Tasneem’s father, Dr Marwan al-Hams, oversees Gaza’s field hospitals. He was abducted three months earlier by undercover Israeli forces. After being transferred between several prisons, Tasneem said she was held at Ashkelon Prison, where her father is detained, and was used as “a means of pressure” during his interrogation. She said she met him only briefly and appealed for his immediate release.
She was later moved to Damon Prison, where dozens of Palestinian women from the West Bank and Palestinian towns inside Israel are being held. According to her account, female detainees face severe mistreatment, including being forced to remove their headscarves and jilbabs, starvation, beatings, and exposure to gas fumes. She recalled incidents where women suffered serious injuries, including possible fractures.
Tasneem said she spent most of her two months in custody isolated inside a cell, despite repeated assurances from interrogators that she would be released.
Israeli authorities have claimed that her father is a “Hamas operative” with information on the burial site of Israeli soldier Hadar Goldin, who was killed in the 2014 Gaza war. The claim remains unverified.
Since the war began, Gaza’s medical sector has come under intense attack. According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, over 1,500 health workers have been killed and more than 360 detained. Rights groups have documented widespread mistreatment of detainees, including starvation, medical neglect, solitary confinement, physical violence, and sexual assault. Healthcare workers, in particular, have faced what Physicians for Human Rights Israel describes as “grave human rights violations.”
Tasneem’s release has renewed calls from Palestinian rights organisations for international intervention and protection of medical personnel in conflict zones.