For most of the current conflict, Dr. Eyas al-Bursh, a young Palestinian general practitioner, had worked as a volunteer doctor at Gaza City’s . But in March 2024, the 30-year-old was arrested with others after Israeli forces launched another major assault on the hospital. Blindfolded and handcuffed, he recounts being taken to Sde Teiman, a military detention center where an investigation by the Associated Press has previously exposed abuses.
“The journey was filled with relentless beatings, humiliation and insults,” al-Bursh told DW via a voice message from inside Gaza. “We were struck with fists, feet, batons and even bare hands. Then at Sde Teiman, the treatment was worse than that of animals. We were kept handcuffed and blindfolded around the clock. From six in the morning until 11 at night, we were forbidden from sleeping during the day and forced to sit for long hours. The conditions were unbearable.”
Al-Bursh spent 11 months in detention and was released without charge in December 2024.
His testimony is part of a report released this week by Physicians for Human Rights Israel, or PHRI, an Israeli advocacy organization. The report alleges that Gaza health workers who have been held without charge face systematic abuse, physical violence and interrogation without legal representation.
The report is based on the testimonies of 24 health workers, some of whom were released back to Gaza without charge after being detained for several months.
The report says that most of the medical personnel were detained using Israel’s “Incarceration of Unlawful Combatants Law.” Rights groups report that this law gives the Israeli military sweeping powers to detain anyone from Gaza they suspect of being involved in hostilities against Israel or posing a threat to Israel’s security. The suspect may be detained indefinitely without charge, is denied access to legal counsel for extended periods after their arrest and may experience delays in judicial hearings.
PHRI alleges that medical workers were “forcibly removed, stripped, humiliated and subjected to brutal treatment,” adding that “Israeli authorities have yet to present credible evidence linking these individuals to security threats.”
“The unlawful detention, abuse and starvation of ‘s health care workers is a moral and legal outrage,” Naji Abbas, director of PHRI’s department for prisoners’ rights, said in the report. “Medical professionals should never be targeted, detained or tortured for providing life-saving care.”
Under international law, health workers are protected, should not be subject to attacks by warring parties and should be allowed to continue providing medical care to all who need it.
Israel denies mistreatment
In a statement to DW regarding allegations in the PHRI report, the Israeli Defense Forces, or IDF, denied withholding medical treatment or food.
“The IDF operates in accordance with international law, and does not detain medical workers due to their work as such,” the statement said, adding that “any mistreatment of detainees, whether during detention or interrogation, is strictly prohibited and constitutes a violation of Israeli and international law, and of IDF regulations.” Any mistreatment would be investigated, the IDF said.
In a statement to US broadcaster CNN this week, the Israeli Prison Service said it was unaware of the abuse of Palestinian medical workers inside its facilities and claimed that it acted according to local law.
The medical workers are among thousands of Gazans who have been detained by the Israeli military during the latest Israel-Hamas conflict.
on Israel by the Gaza-based militant group, Hamas, resulted in around 1,200 deaths and some 250 hostages being taken into Gaza. They triggered a retaliatory Israeli military operation in Gaza that has killed over 48,000 Palestinians. A fragile ceasefire came into effect in January.
‘We begged them to stop’
Dr. Khaled Alser, a surgeon, is another of the medical workers detained by Israel. He was arrested at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, a city in southern Gaza, in March 2024 after the Israeli military laid siege to the hospital. In testimony provided to the PHRI, he said that he was first held in an empty building in Gaza for questioning.
“They questioned me extensively about Nasser Hospital — my work there, the types of surgeries performed, where I was on October 7, whether I had treated hostages, and if I had seen any tunnels or anti-Israeli activity inside the hospital.”
According to Alser’s testimony, soldiers then brought him handcuffed and shackled to a military detention center in Israel. “They threw the three of us into a military jeep and drove us around for over two hours. During the ride, they humiliated and beat us — sitting on us, kicking us with their boots and striking us with their rifle butts. We begged them to stop but they continued,” the surgeon said.
Alser was released in October 2024 after seven months in detention without charge.
IDF dismisses allegations
PHRI said medical personnel were “primarily questioned about the Israeli hostages, tunnels, hospital structures and Hamas activity.”
In Gaza, some were taken back to their hospitals to help troops with intelligence gatherings.
On Tuesday, British newspaper the Guardian published similar findings in their own investigative report. Other human rights groups and the United Nations have also documented unlawful detentions during the past 16 months of conflict.
In a statement to DW, the IDF rejected the allegations raised by the Guardian.
“During the fighting in the Gaza Strip, suspects of terrorist activities were arrested,” the statement said. “The relevant suspects have been taken for further detention and questioning in Israel. Those who are not involved in terrorist activity are released back to the Gaza Strip as soon as possible.”
Gaza’s eroding medical infrastructure
According to the World Health Organization, Israel has detained 297 health workers since October 2023, including nurses, doctors, paramedics and other essential health workers. Healthcare Workers Watch, a Palestinian watchdog, puts the number of detained Palestinian health workers during the war in Gaza at 338. According to Physicians for Humans Rights, more than 180 remain in detention with “no clear indication of when, or if, they will be released.”
According to the UN, more than 1,000 health workers have been killed during the war, hospitals have been bombed, and the health system has degraded further.
Israel has claimed that and other militant groups were using hospitals as command centers. Hospitals have special protection under international humanitarian law. This protection can be revoked if a party to the conflict commits an “act harmful to the enemy.”
‘Israel must release detained medical personnel’
Some of the medical workers from Gaza have died in detention. Dr. Adnan al-Bursh, head of orthopedics at Shifa Hospital, Gaza’s largest health facility, died in April 2024 shortly after being transferred to Ofer prison. Former detainees allege he was tortured and sexually assaulted before his death. His body was not released to his family for burial in Gaza, the report says.
Many others remain in detention, including Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, a prominent pediatrician and director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza. He was arrested on December 27, 2024, when Israeli forces closed one of the last working hospitals in the area. He has since been held without trial, with Israel alleging links to Hamas. His family has campaigned for his release.
“Israel must release all detained medical personnel immediately, and the international community must demand accountability,” the PHRI’s Abbas said in the report.
‘Edited by: Cathrin Schaer
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