Palestinian advocacy groups have said that the head of orthopaedics at Gaza’s largest hospital Al-Shifa has died in Israeli custody, alleging he had been tortured during his detention, AFP reports.

Doctor Adnan Ahmed Atiya al-Barsh died at the Israeli-run Ofer prison in the occupied West Bank last month, the Palestinian Prisoners Affairs Committee and the Palestinian Prisoners Club said in a joint statement.

Contacted by AFP about the reported death in custody, the Israeli army said: “We are currently not aware of such (an) incident.”

Barsh, 50, had been arrested with a group of other doctors last December at Al-Awda Hospital near the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza.

He died on April 19, the prisoners groups said, citing Palestinian authorities. “His body is still being held,” they added.

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