Met Police question London family of doctor in Gaza

A surgeon from London working in Gaza City has described how police turned up at his UK home to question his wife.

Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah, who is based at the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital, told BBC's Newsnight that to have his family "harassed in this way is just bizarre".

The Met Police said Dr Abu-Sittah's home was visited by officers because the force received a report that "a man was planning to travel to a warzone".

He said he had taken up the matter with his lawyers.

Dr Abu-Sittah explained: "I need to find out why someone thought it would be a good idea to show up at my house and ask my wife which hospital I worked at, why did I go [to Gaza], who paid for my ticket and which charity do I work for.

"My family are seeing this bombing unfold knowing full well that I am in the midst of it... It's a kind of brutish attempt at harassment and silencing."

He said it was his duty "to bear witness to the carnage" seen in Gaza, adding: "As if my wife did not have enough to worry about that she had to endure this today (Monday)."

Dr Abu-Sittah spoke of the dire conditions he was working in, with children comprising 40% of the patients he has seen.

He added that resources were running out fast with water pressure now insufficient to supply some of the equipment.

"The surgical capacity of the hospital is unable to deal with the sheer number of wounded, 9,000 in 10 days," Dr Abu-Sittah said.

"Fifty families here have been wiped off the civil register [in the hospital area], from grandparents to newborns."

A Met Police spokesperson said: "On 16 October, police officers responding to a report that a man was planning to travel to a warzone attended an address in north London where they spoke with one of the occupants.

"Having identified that the man had left the UK for humanitarian purposes, the officers signposted the occupant to current FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office) advice."

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