GAZA- A coalition of 25 human rights and medical organizations has urgently demanded an end to Israel’s arbitrary detention of Palestinian healthcare workers in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
As of February 2025, at least 185 medical professionals, doctors, nurses, and humanitarian workers—remain imprisoned by Israeli authorities, the group reported in a joint statement released Monday.
The detainees include staff affiliated with humanitarian groups such as MedGlobal and Children Not Numbers. Many have been held without charge or clear legal process, and the fate of numerous detainees remains unknown. The statement noted that those who have been released described experiencing severe abuse, while others tragically died while in custody.
Prominent international organizations including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Physicians for Human Rights, Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), and MedGlobal were among the signatories of the call to action.
The coalition emphasized that these detentions are part of a broader, systematic attack on Gaza’s healthcare infrastructure. Since October 2023, approximately 700 documented attacks have targeted medical facilities and personnel—including bombings of hospitals, clinics, and ambulances—resulting in the deaths of more than 1,500 healthcare workers and 460 aid personnel.
The signatories are urging Israel to immediately and unconditionally release all unlawfully detained healthcare workers and to cease arbitrary arrests and deliberate assaults on medical services. They argue that these actions constitute a blatant violation of international humanitarian law and are contributing to the collapse of Gaza’s health system during a time of unprecedented crisis.
