An Israeli doctor thanked his Palestinian counterparts in Gaza for caring for Israeli prisoner Mia Shem with the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), but expressed concern about the health situation in the Gaza Strip due to the lack of medicines, including on dozens of Israeli prisoners.
Dr. Amir Blumenfeld, former head of the IDF's trauma department, expressed concern about the impact of the shortage of medicines on Israeli prisoners and on the Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip.
At the beginning of its offensive on Gaza, Israel announced that water, electricity, fuel, food and medical supplies would not enter the Strip.
With the number of Palestinian casualties in the Gaza Strip rising dramatically following the escalation of Israeli air attacks, health officials in Gaza and international human rights organizations warn of the shortage of medicine for the lives of the wounded and sick in the Strip.
"I am very worried about everyone in Gaza and their health right now, they all need care, I am very worried about the conditions of the hostages in Hamas and I know that some of them need medicine, some are infants, children, people with disabilities and the elderly need medicines or their lives are in danger," Blumenfeld said.
In a letter to Hamas, he said Palestinians should remember that when a Palestinian patient arrives in Israel, doctors there always provide the best health care regardless of whether he is Israeli or Palestinian, and demanded that Palestinians provide the same medical care to Israeli prisoners.
He sent a message to Israeli officials to return the prisoners to their homes in safety and security.
Prisoner Care
Blumenfeld, who provides medical advisory support to the families of Israeli prisoners in Gaza, said the Qassam Brigades, Hamas's military wing, on Monday released a video showing Israeli prisoner Mia Shem receiving treatment.
"I saw the video that Hamas posted tonight, and I watched it carefully to try to understand what happened with Mia Shem and the kind of health care she got in the Gaza Strip, and so far it seems that she has received good health care, and I thank the Palestinian doctors for providing this kind of care, but she needs additional care, she needs more treatments to improve her health condition," he said.
"I think that everyone in the world, everywhere, should think of these children and hostages as if they were their own children, their parents and their families, and consider the humanitarian situation serious, and everyone should do what is possible to free these people and make sure they are safe," he said.
Shem is one of 200 to 250 Israelis captured by Palestinian resistance factions during Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7, after attacking dozens of Israeli towns and bases in the Gaza envelope.
The hospitals of the Gaza Strip have entered a state of virtual collapse due to power cuts and the depletion of medicines, medical supplies and fuel as a result of the Israeli blockade and the continuous bombardment of the Strip, which has so far left more than 3000,12 dead and 500,<> wounded.