Gaza Herald — Palestinian human rights organizations and the Prisoners’ Media Office disclosed details Tuesday regarding a physical assault and interrogation of detained Palestinian medical leader Dr. Marwan al-Hams, Director of Gaza Field Hospitals.
According to official advocacy statements, Dr. al-Hams was subjected to physical beatings, binding, and verbal abuse directly in the presence of Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on October 7 at the Ganot detention facility.
Dr. al-Hams, a prominent medical administrator detained by Israeli forces during operations targeting Gaza’s health leadership, remained steadfast during the confrontation, affirming his commitment to his ethical and humanitarian duties toward Palestinian patients and trauma victims despite direct intimidation.
Severe Injuries and Complete Denial of Care
The Prisoners’ Media Office confirmed that Dr. al-Hams is suffering from severe spinal trauma and multiple fractures resulting from the physical violence inflicted during the October 7 incident. Detention guards and prison authorities have withheld necessary diagnostic scans and emergency medical treatment, leaving his physical condition critical.
Advocacy groups characterized the October 7 crackdown at the Ganot facility as one of the most violent crackdowns targeting Palestinian medical professionals and detainees from the Gaza Strip since the start of the war.
Physical Injuries: Fractures, severe back trauma, and acute mobility restrictions caused by physical beating and restraint.
Command Involvement: Direct supervisory oversight and provocation by Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir during the physical assault.
Medical Status: Total denial of specialized therapeutic intervention, pain management, or external medical evaluation.
Systematic Targeting of Healthcare Leadership
The assault on Dr. al-Hams forms part of a broader pattern of physical violence, torture, and enforced disappearance directed against Gaza’s healthcare workers. Over the past three years, dozens of hospital directors, senior surgeons, and emergency personnel, including Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, have been seized from medical facilities and transferred into Negev, Ofer, and Ganot detention centers.
Released medical personnel have consistently reported that far-right government ministers, led by Ben-Gvir, routinely inspect detention blocks, overseeing punitive measures that include extended stress positions, deliberate starvation, denial of medical care, and physical violence.
Urgent Calls for International Action
In its statement, the Prisoners’ Media Office called on international human rights bodies, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and the World Health Organization (WHO) to intervene immediately to inspect the Ganot facility, secure urgent medical care for Dr. al-Hams, and protect detained healthcare workers.
Rights organizations held Israeli occupation authorities fully accountable for the physical safety, psychological integrity, and lives of all Palestinian detainees, warning that the systematic targeting of doctors inside detention camps constitutes a grave violation of the Geneva Conventions governing medical personnel in wartime.
