Gaza Herald _A newly released testimony from a former Palestinian detainee has confirmed a detailed account of the alleged abuse that preceded the death of Dr. Adnan Al-Bursh, head of the Orthopedic Department at Al-Shifa Medical Complex, while he was in Israeli custody.
The testimony was published by Palestinian journalist and former detainee Islam Hijazi, who said it was relayed by a prisoner still held in Israeli prisons. The newspaper withheld the prisoner’s identity for security reasons. According to Hijazi, the detainee witnessed Dr. Al-Bursh’s imprisonment, interrogation, and the events leading up to his death.
Hijazi said the testimony indicates that the treatment Dr. Al-Bursh endured reflected a deliberate effort by Israeli prison authorities, acting under the direction of Israeli intelligence officers, to physically eliminate him.
Israeli forces arrested Dr. Al-Bursh on December 19, 2023, while he was treating wounded patients at Al-Awda Hospital in northern Gaza during Israel’s military campaign in the enclave.
According to Hijazi, Dr. Al-Bursh was initially taken to the Sde Teiman detention facility, where he was subjected to severe abuse before being transferred to Al-Jalama prison in poor health. There, he reportedly underwent further interrogation by Israel’s Shin Bet security agency over allegations related to Israeli captives held in Gaza.
After days of questioning, Dr. Al-Bursh was informed that his interrogation had ended and was transferred to Ofer Prison alongside other Palestinian detainees, including the witness who later recounted the events.
Hijazi said prison guards are typically unaware of detainees’ case files but receive instructions from intelligence officers identifying specific prisoners for harsh treatment. According to the testimony, Dr. Al-Bursh was assaulted during his transfer from Al-Jalama, while the most severe attack allegedly occurred immediately after his arrival at Ofer Prison.
The witness said that upon entering the prison, a guard told Dr. Al-Bursh, “We have been waiting for you,” before approximately 20 guards surrounded him and assaulted him for more than 30 minutes.
According to the testimony, the guards repeatedly kicked him, beat him with objects, used electric shocks, and focused their blows on sensitive areas of his body in a section of the prison not covered by surveillance cameras.
The detainee recalled hearing Dr. Al-Bursh scream throughout the assault until his voice suddenly fell silent.
After the beating, prison guards threw him into the yard of Section 23 while he was struggling to breathe. Fellow detainees repeatedly called for medical assistance, but, according to the testimony, no doctor was brought to treat him.
Hours later, Dr. Al-Bursh died in custody.
Hijazi described the incident as a deliberate killing rather than an accidental death. He also said he had witnessed the death of another Palestinian detainee, Kamal Radi from Khan Younis, while held at Sde Teiman, and alleged that Israeli personnel frequently targeted vulnerable parts of detainees’ bodies, causing internal bleeding that could later be presented as resulting from natural causes.
Dr. Al-Bursh’s family was informed of his death on April 24, 2024, according to a family source, while his body remains withheld by Israeli authorities.
In December 2025, the family launched a public campaign demanding the return of his body, describing him as one of Gaza’s leading orthopedic surgeons and insisting that recovering his remains is a fundamental right they will continue to pursue.
