GAZA, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), Israeli courts have rejected petitions seeking the release of 14 Palestinian doctors from Gaza who remain detained without trial, some for more than two years, as the territory’s healthcare system struggles with severe shortages of medical specialists.
The Israeli human rights organization Physicians for Human Rights–Israel (PHRI) said on Tuesday that two petitions it filed on behalf of the doctors had been rejected.
The detainees include hospital directors and specialists in critical medical fields. PHRI warned that their continued imprisonment without charges or trial violates their rights and deprives Gaza’s patients of urgently needed medical care.
Naji Abbas of PHRI criticized the rulings, saying they reflected serious violations against detained Palestinian doctors and the Israeli judiciary’s failure to protect their rights.
He stressed that security allegations could not justify indefinitely detaining doctors without trial or denying them essential medical treatment.
The detentions come amid devastating losses in Gaza’s healthcare workforce since the outbreak of Israel’s genocidal war in October 2023.
According to figures released in July, approximately 1,700 healthcare workers have been killed, while at least 330 medical personnel have been arrested.
Three doctors, Adnan al-Bursh, Iyad al-Rantisi and Ziad al-Dalu, have died in Israeli detention amid reports of torture and medical neglect.
Critical medical specialties disrupted
Al-Shifa Hospital director Mohammed Abu Salmiya previously warned that Gaza had lost essential medical expertise because of killings, arrests and the departure of specialists from the territory.
He said oncology services had effectively stopped following the departure of Gaza’s only two oncology consultants, the killing of two histopathology specialists and the destruction of the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital.
Cardiac surgery, neurosurgery and urological surgery services have also been completely disrupted following the departure of specialized medical personnel.
Israeli forces have detained Gaza’s only joint replacement surgeon and its sole spinal fixation specialist, while its only kidney transplant consultant and a specialist orthopedic surgeon have been martyred, Abu Salmiya said.
Thousands of surgical procedures remain pending, particularly reconstructive orthopedic operations, burn treatment and plastic surgery.
Meanwhile, the United Nations reports that all 36 hospitals in Gaza have sustained varying degrees of damage, with only about half partially operational. Another 176 healthcare facilities have also been damaged.
PHRI warned that the continued detention of the 14 doctors affects not only their freedom and legal rights but also thousands of patients deprived of their expertise at a time when Gaza urgently needs every available medical professional.
