At least 160 healthcare workers, including over 20 doctors, are currently detained in Israeli-run facilities, where reports of torture, beatings, and inhumane treatment have emerged. Israeli forces have systematically targeted Gaza’s healthcare workforce, detaining senior doctors and crippling the region’s ability to provide medical care. Meanwhile, seven newborns have died in just two weeks due to exposure, as Israel continues blocking shelter, heating, and humanitarian aid, despite ceasefire agreements.
According to Healthcare Workers Watch (HWW), a Palestinian medical NGO, 162 medical workers remain detainedin Israeli prisons, including some of Gaza’s most senior physicians. An additional 24 healthcare professionals remain missing after being abducted by Israeli forces from hospitals, ambulances, and checkpoints during the war. Another 179 medical staff who were previously detained have since been released.
HWW director Muath Alser has condemned Israel’s systematic targeting of healthcare professionals:
“Israel’s targeting of the healthcare workforce in this manner is having a devastating impact on the provision of healthcare to Palestinians, with extensive suffering, countless preventable deaths, and the effective eradication of whole medical specialties.”
Doctors who have been released from detention have provided harrowing testimony about torture, medical neglect, and psychological abuse inside Israeli facilities.
Dr. Hussam Abu Safia, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, was arrested in December and subjected to torture and medical neglect at Ofer Prison.
Dr. Mohammed Abu Selmia, director of Al-Shifa Hospital, detailed the horrors of his seven-month detention in Israeli custody:
“I am talking about clubbing, being beaten with rifle butts, and being attacked by dogs. There was little to no food, no personal hygiene, no soap inside the cells, no water, no toilet, no toilet paper … I saw people who were dying there … I was beaten so badly I couldn’t use my legs or walk. No day passes without torture.”
Two of Gaza’s most prominent doctors—Dr. Iyad al-Rantisi, a consultant obstetrician and gynecologist, and Dr. Adnan al-Bursh, head of the orthopedic department at Al-Shifa Hospital—died in Israeli detention, presumed to have been tortured to death.
In June, Haaretz reported that the Israeli military is investigating 48 deaths of Palestinians from Gaza who were in Israeli custody, including 36 prisoners at Sde Teiman detention center.
Sde Teiman: A site of horror
A CNN investigation into Sde Teiman revealed gruesome conditions, including:
- Amputations due to prolonged handcuffing.
- Medical procedures performed by underqualified interns.
- Severe neglect of wounds, leaving detainees with rotting flesh.
In August, a video surfaced showing the gang rape of a Palestinian prisoner by Israeli guards at Sde Teiman.
Al Jazeera reported:
“The video shows the prisoner being selected from a larger group lying bound on the floor. The victim is then escorted to a wall, where guards, using their shields to hide their identity from the camera, proceed to rape him.”
Following the release of this footage, Israeli politicians and journalists defended the guards, arguing that any action, including rape, is permissible in the war against Palestinians in Gaza.
Israel’s blockade of humanitarian aid and shelter materials has directly resulted in the deaths of newborns. Over the past two weeks, seven babies have frozen to death in Gaza due to exposure.
The Gaza Health Ministry confirmed the latest death on Wednesday: Sila Abdel Qader, a 1.5-month-old girl, who succumbed to the cold in Gaza City.
Gaza Health Ministry head Munir al-Bursh called for urgent intervention:
“Urgent and immediate intervention by international and UN institutions is needed to save the children of Gaza from the consequences of the genocidal war waged by the occupation.”
Ola, a grieving mother, described the loss of her newborn, Amro:
“I am living in psychological shock and a nervous breakdown. The cold killed my little baby, with his tender body suffering from the lack of warmth that my embrace tried to provide.”
Yusuf al-Shinbari, whose two-month-old daughter died of exposure:
“Yesterday, I was playing with her. I was happy with her. She was a beautiful child, like the moon.”
Under the ceasefire agreement, Israel was supposed to allow an increase in humanitarian aid, including tents, mobile homes, and heavy-duty equipment to clear rubble. However, Israel has:
- Blocked 90% of shelters and mobile homes promised under the ceasefire agreement.
- Prevented critical supplies like generators and fuel from entering Gaza.
- Left the electrical grid largely destroyed, forcing families to survive in the freezing cold without any heating.
UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric acknowledged the failure of aid delivery:
“There’s been a lot of challenges in getting tents and caravans and tarpaulins in … Some are going in, but we need more.”
- Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have condemned Israel’s detention of medical workers as a violation of the Geneva Convention.
- The International Criminal Court (ICC) has been urged to investigate Israeli actions as war crimes.
Lack of action from the U.S. and Europe
- The Biden administration has yet to publicly condemn the detention and abuse of Palestinian doctors.
- Despite global outcry, Western nations continue providing military aid to Israel.
The deliberate targeting of Gaza’s medical professionals is not just a violation of human rights—it is a systematic attempt to erase Palestine’s healthcare system entirely. Meanwhile, innocent newborns are dying due to deliberate Israeli policies blocking shelter and aid. Without international intervention, Gaza’s healthcare system will collapse entirely, and thousands more will die from preventable causes.
Call to action
- Human rights advocates and international organizations must increase pressure on Israel to release detained medical personnel immediately.
- Ceasefire agreements must be enforced, including allowing shelter and medical supplies into Gaza.
- The world must act now—before even more doctors, patients, and newborns pay the price for global inaction.
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