Human Rights Watch has called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate Israeli attacks on healthcare workers in Gaza.
The organization pointed out that the “Israeli government continues to mistreat Palestinian medical personnel in Gaza and must stop this immediately.”
Human Rights Watch added, “The Israeli military has arbitrarily detained Palestinians working in healthcare in Gaza since the hostilities began in October 2023, transferring them to detention facilities in Israel, where they were allegedly tortured and mistreated. The detention of medical personnel in the context of repeated Israeli military attacks on hospitals in Gaza contributes to the catastrophic deterioration of the healthcare system in the besieged enclave.”
Doctors, nurses, and paramedics who were released described to the organization the mistreatment they faced in Israeli prisons, which included humiliation, beatings, forced stress positions, prolonged blindfolding, and denial of medical care. They also reported being subjected to torture, including rape and sexual assault by Israeli forces, denial of medical care, and poor detention conditions for all detainees.
Belkis Jarrah, Acting Middle East Director at Human Rights Watch, stated, “The Israeli government continues to mistreat Palestinian medical personnel away from the public eye and must stop immediately. A thorough investigation into the torture and other forms of mistreatment of doctors, nurses, and paramedics should be conducted, and the perpetrators should be appropriately punished, including by the International Criminal Court.”
Human Rights Watch interviewed eight Palestinian healthcare workers between March and June 2024 who were arrested by the Israeli military from Gaza between November and December 2023 and held without charges for periods ranging from seven days to five months. Six of them were arrested while on duty after the Israeli siege of hospitals or during hospital evacuations, which they said were coordinated with the Israeli military. None of the healthcare workers were informed of the reason for their detention or charged with any crime.
The Gaza Ministry of Health reported that Israeli forces have detained at least 310 Palestinian medical personnel since October 7.
