17/07/2025
Since October 7, 2023, Israeli Occupation Forces have unlawfully detained at least 404 Palestinian healthcare workers, who were exposed to systematic torture and inhumane treatment.
As of today, Israeli Occupation Forces arbitrarily detain 28 prominent Gazan physicians, 18 of them are irreplaceable consultants and specialists in essential specialities like General Surgery, Vascular Surgery, Orthopaedics Surgery, Anaesthesiology, Intensive Care, Cardiology, Paediatrics, and Obstetrics and Gynaecology; depriving the deliberately targeted healthcare system in Gaza of their vital expertise.
Two of the detained senior physicians were reportedly tortured to death in Israeli prisons, while their bodies are still in Israeli detention in an attempt to obliterate the conclusive evidence of a heinous war crime.
Eleven of the currently detained physicians are over 50 years of age with chronic illnesses, which puts their lives at risk due to medical neglect, torture and the inhumane conditions of their detention.
Twenty-one of the currently detained physicians were detained from their hospitals after being besieged for days and invaded by the Israeli military. Three were detained from organised medical convoys to transfer patients through the Israel-designated "safe routes". While 2 were detained from their homes, and the remaining 2 were detained while they were evacuating their homes as per the Israeli orders.
Twenty-one of the currently detained physicians have been detained for more than 400 days without due legal process; three of them have been detained for over 600 days.
Healthcare workers are protected under International Humanitarian Law. Arbitrary detention is a war crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Torture is a war crime under the Geneva Conventions. Israel must immediately and unconditionally release all the detained healthcare workers.
Healthcare Workers Watch
Palestine
July 16, 2025
