MSF condemns Israel’s detention of Palestinian medical staff as complicity
The humanitarian organisation has demanded the immediate release of Dr Hussam Abu Safia and Dr Mohammed Obeid, citing reports of torture and solitary confinement for over a year.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has issued a formal demand for the immediate and unconditional release of Palestinian healthcare workers detained by Israel, describing the treatment of medical personnel as unjustified and conducted in dire conditions. In a statement released on Monday, the NGO expressed outrage at the systematic detention of health professionals, warning that the failure of global leaders to condemn Israel’s conduct has effectively become complicity.
The organisation specifically highlighted the case of Dr Hussam Abu Safia, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza. Israel has classified the paediatrician as an “unlawful combatant” and is holding him without trial. According to MSF, Dr Abu Safia has been held in solitary confinement for more than a year and a half and is reportedly being tortured. His lawyer, Nasser Odeh, stated that the doctor’s health is in danger and noted visible signs of regular torture.
MSF also called for the release of Dr Mohammed Obeid, an orthopaedic surgeon who has been imprisoned for more than 600 days after being arrested while working at Kamal Adwan Hospital. The NGO insisted that all arbitrarily detained medical personnel must be granted access to adequate medical care and dignified conditions pending their release.
Data from Healthcare Workers Watch indicates that 446 Palestinian healthcare workers have been detained since the conflict began on October 7, 2023. The group reports that six detainees have been killed in custody, with their bodies still held by Israel. Additionally, Physicians for Human Rights Israel has petitioned the Israeli Supreme Court for the release of more than 50 healthcare workers currently held in inhumane conditions, including 15 doctors.
Earlier this month, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention both called for the release of Dr Abu Safia and all arbitrarily detained medical personnel. Before his abduction, Dr Abu Safia had been a prominent voice highlighting the impact of the war on Gaza’s healthcare infrastructure.
