Gaza Herald – Israel continues to detain 95 Palestinian healthcare professionals, 80 from Gaza and 15 from the occupied West Bank, despite growing global outrage and documented violations of international humanitarian law. Many were abducted directly from hospitals and ambulances while treating the wounded during Israel’s assault on Gaza.
Among those imprisoned is Dr. Hussam Abu Safia, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, who was arrested in December 2024 during a military raid. Despite losing his son in an Israeli airstrike, Dr. Abu Safia remained on duty until he was taken. Amnesty International confirms he’s been held without charge or trial under Israel’s Unlawful Combatants Law, a law condemned by human rights organizations as a tool for arbitrary detention.
According to Healthcare Workers Watch (HWW), at least five healthcare workers have died under Israeli custody, five others remain missing, and nearly all detainees have reported torture, abuse, and denial of medical care. HWW and Amnesty International warn that Israel’s systematic targeting and detention of medical staff constitutes a war crime under the Geneva Conventions.
The detentions come amid the near-total collapse of Gaza’s health system. Over 94% of Gaza’s hospitals have been bombed or destroyed, and more than 1,700 healthcare workers have been killed since October 2023. With medical facilities in ruins and doctors in prison, the Strip is being pushed toward total humanitarian collapse.
Global pressure is mounting for Israel to release the remaining detainees and face accountability for its ongoing violations of international law. Human rights groups stress that the imprisonment of doctors, those who dedicate their lives to saving others, exposes the true brutality of Israel’s genocide in Gaza: a deliberate war on life itself.
