The detentions of Gaza\u2019s healthcare workers worsen the region\u2019s healthcare crisis.
\n GAZA
\nOver 160 healthcare workers, including more than 20 doctors, are still being detained in Israeli prisons, with reports of widespread abuse and torture.
\nThe World Health Organization (WHO) expressed alarm over the inhumane treatment of these vital medical professionals, who are being held in Israeli custody amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
\nPalestinian medical NGO Healthcare Workers Watch (HWW) confirmed that 162 healthcare workers, some of Gaza\u2019s most senior physicians, are still being held in Israeli detention facilities, with an additional 24 reported missing after being abducted from hospitals during Israeli raids.
\nThe detainees, including doctors, nurses, and paramedics, were subjected to violent interrogations, with multiple reports of torture, beatings, and starvation during their imprisonment.
\nMuath Alser, director of HWW, slammed the detentions as illegal under international law, stressing that the capture of healthcare professionals is a blatant violation of the Geneva Conventions, which explicitly prohibit the targeting of medical personnel in conflict zones. Alser also warned that this assault on Gaza\u2019s healthcare workforce has compounded the already catastrophic humanitarian crisis, leading to preventable deaths and a collapse of essential medical services.
\n\u201cIsrael\u2019s actions are directly undermining Gaza\u2019s ability to respond to the immense suffering of its people,\u201d Alser said. \u201cBy detaining medical staff, they are denying Palestinians critical care and exacerbating the already dire situation.\u201d
\nAccording to the WHO, 297 healthcare workers have been detained by Israeli forces since the war began, though reports from HWW suggest that the true number may be higher. Despite these numbers, the WHO has been unable to secure updated information on how many detainees have been released or remain in custody.
\nTestimonies from former detainees, including senior doctors like Dr. Mohammed Abu Selmia, director of Gaza\u2019s al-Shifa hospital, paint a horrifying picture of life in Israeli detention. Dr. Selmia, who was detained for seven months before being released without charge, described being tortured with rifle butts, attacked by dogs, and deprived of basic necessities such as food, water, and hygiene.
\n\u201cI was beaten so badly that I couldn\u2019t walk,\u201d Dr. Selmia recalled. \u201cThere was no food, no soap, no clean water. I saw people die in those cells. Every day was filled with abuse.\u201d
\nThe United Nations\u2019 Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNOCH) has condemned Israel\u2019s actions, calling for the immediate release of all detained healthcare workers and for an end to practices that amount to torture, enforced disappearances, and other forms of ill-treatment.
\n\u201cUnder international humanitarian law, health workers, facilities, and patients must be protected, not targeted,\u201d said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO\u2019s Director-General. \u201cThe Israeli authorities\u2019 continued detainment of Gaza\u2019s health professionals is a war crime and an unconscionable attack on human rights.\u201d
\nDespite Israel\u2019s claims that those detained are suspected of being involved in \u201cterrorist activities,\u201d the UN and other international bodies have rejected these allegations, demanding evidence to substantiate such claims.
\nThe Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have repeatedly failed to provide proof to justify the widespread detention of medical workers.
\nIsrael\u2019s defense of its actions, including claims that hospitals were used as \u201cmilitary centers\u201d by Hamas, has also been called into question by the international community, with no clear evidence produced to support such accusations.
\n\u201cIsrael must be held accountable for its systematic violations of international law,\u201d said Ajith Sunghay, head of UNOCH for the occupied Palestinian territories. \u201cThe ongoing detention and mistreatment of healthcare workers is directly contributing to the destruction of Gaza\u2019s healthcare system and the suffering of its people.\u201d
\nThe case of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, has drawn widespread condemnation after it was revealed that he had been tortured during his detention in Israeli custody. His lawyer, who was allowed to visit him for the first time in Ofer Prison in Ramallah, confirmed that Abu Safiya had been physically abused, denied medical care, and subjected to cruel and inhumane conditions.
\nAs Gaza\u2019s medical system continues to collapse under the weight of the Israeli military\u2019s war crimes, the international community must take immediate steps to end the abuse of medical personnel and ensure that the detained workers are released without delay. The systematic targeting of healthcare professionals in Gaza is not only a violation of international law but a direct assault on the most basic principles of humanity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The detentions of Gaza\u2019s healthcare workers worsen the region\u2019s healthcare crisis. GAZA Over 160 healthcare workers, including more than 20 doctors, are still being detained in Israeli prisons, with reports of widespread abuse and torture. The World Health Organization (WHO) expressed alarm over the inhumane treatment of these vital medical professionals, who are being held […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":463862,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-463849","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n