Ramallah - The Palestinian Authority's health ministry on Saturday accused the militant movement Hamas of turning some of its medical facilities in the Gaza Strip into detention centres.

After Israel stopped 23 days of aerial and ground attacks in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip last month, "Hamas unfortunately used several facilities, mainly a large number of hospitals, as stations for summons, interrogation, torture and detention," the Ramallah-based ministry said in a statement.

The ministry also claimed Hamas sacked tens of employees, loyal to Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement, who broke their general strike and returned to their work after Israel launched it assault on December 27.

The Israeli aerial bombardment, which preceded a large-scale ground invasion on January 3, destroyed most of the police stations and civil administration departments of the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip.

According to the statement, Hamas specifically seized some buildings in al-Shifa, the main hospital in the city, al-Nasser pediatric clinic and the psychiatric hospital. (dpa)