Gaza Herald- Four Palestinian doctors from the Gaza Strip held in Israeli detention facilities said they are enduring extreme hunger and worsening living conditions, with an Israeli rights group citing their descriptions of the prisons as “catastrophic.”
One of the lawyers representing Physicians for Human Rights Israel visited the four detainees at Negev Prison on May 11, the organization said in a statement released Tuesday.
The organization identified the detainees as Dr. Mohammed Obeid, Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, Dr. Murad al-Qouqa, and Dr. Akram Abu Ouda, adding that the four doctors have been held for prolonged periods without formal charges.
The detainees reported that prison conditions had not improved, particularly regarding the amount and quality of food provided, which they described as “dangerously insufficient,” according to the group.
The doctors also said that there was a growing outbreak of scabies among detainees, attributing it to insufficient treatment and a lack of adequate medical care within the prison facilities.
The organization noted that the four doctors were brought before Israeli courts in recent months, where judges repeatedly renewed their detention orders without filing charges or providing access to legal counsel.
The detainees described their conditions in custody as “catastrophic” on both humanitarian and medical grounds, the statement said.
Since October 2023, Israeli military operations in Gaza have killed more than 72,000 Palestinians, the majority of them women and children, while injuring over 172,000 others, according to figures from the territory. Thousands more Palestinians have also been detained amid the offensive.
