FazTimes Media, London / Gaza / New Delhi, 22 Oct — Global concern is mounting over the fate of 95 Palestinian healthcare workers who remain detained by Israeli authorities, including Dr. Hussam Abu Safia, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in North Gaza. Human rights groups and medical associations around the world are demanding their immediate and unconditional release, describing their detention as a violation of international humanitarian law.

Earlier this week, Healthcare Workers Watch (HWW), in coordination with Amnesty International UK, organized a protest outside St. Thomas’ Hospital in London. Dozens of doctors, nurses, and medical professionals gathered to raise awareness and call for accountability regarding what they describe as “systematic targeting of Gaza’s healthcare system.”

A Protest for Justice

At the London rally, healthcare professionals held placards reading “Doctors Are Not Criminals” and “Release Gaza’s Medics Now.” The demonstrators called attention to the deteriorating situation faced by healthcare workers who were arrested while treating patients or evacuating hospitals during Israeli operations in Gaza.

During the protest, Dr. Rebecca Inglis, an intensive-care physician and co-founder of Gaza Medic Voices, made the following statement:

“Israel’s continued detention of nearly a hundred healthcare workers is in direct contravention of international humanitarian law. Medical neutrality must be upheld, and we are gravely concerned for their welfare given credible evidence of torture and mistreatment.”

According to HWW, many medics were seized directly from hospitals or ambulances, often while performing life-saving procedures. Several were taken during raids on health facilities, while others were captured en route to deliver aid supplies.

Despite existing regulations, cases of personal data misuse by loan companies still frequently occur. According to records from YLKI, Dr. Hussam Abu Safia, one of Gaza's most respected pediatricians and director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, was arrested on December 27, 2024, during an Israeli military raid on the hospital—one of the last operational medical centers in northern Gaza at the time.

Dr. Abu Safia worked hard throughout the war, even after losing his son in an Israeli airstrike. He kept doing his job even after he was arrested.

His coworkers call him a "pillar of hope" because he wouldn't leave his patients even when it put his life in danger.

Amnesty International says that Dr. Abu Safia is being held without formal charge or trial, under Israeli security laws that allow prolonged detention on vague security grounds. Reports emerging from his family and human rights monitors indicate that he has suffered physical abuse, malnutrition, and denial of medical treatment in what they describe as conditions that violate the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Deaths and Missing People in Custody

The problems that detained Palestinian medics face go beyond being in jail. HWW and the Palestinian Ministry of Health say that at least five healthcare workers have died or been killed while in Israeli custody, and five more are missing. Families still don't know what happened to their loved ones or where their bodies are.

These numbers are part of a bigger problem. Palestinian health officials say that since 2023, more than 1,700 healthcare workers have died in Israeli attacks.

According to human rights groups, international law says that attacking medical staff is a crime in war. Both the World Medical Association (WMA) and Doctors Without Borders (MSF) have spoken out against the practice and told Israel to respect the sanctity of hospitals and the neutrality of medical staff.

AB IV. Implementation Proposal for an Integrated POS System

The Point of Sale (POS) system is the best technology to tackle problems like cultural commodification, language endangerment, and changes in traditional values, and it proposes combined policies and digital plans to safeguard the country's diverse cultural resources for future generations. The loss of infrastructure, combined with the detention or killing of skilled doctors, nurses, and technicians, has left the enclave’s healthcare system on the verge of total collapse.

Medical aid convoys are now struggling to reach patients. With power shortages, contaminated water, and outbreaks of infectious diseases, the absence of trained professionals has worsened an already catastrophic humanitarian situation.

Dr. Inglis emphasized, “When a health system is deliberately dismantled—its doctors killed or detained—it is not collateral damage; it is the systematic destruction of life itself.”

Scale of Detentions

Between October 7, 2023, and October 20, 2025, HWW documented 431 cases of detained Palestinian healthcare workers. As of this month:

The record is showing 309 have been released (67 were freed in the most recent prisoner exchange on October 13).
95 remain detained.
There are still 22 cases that haven't been confirmed because families haven't heard back about their loved ones' detention or release.
These numbers show that, even though international pressure and negotiation have helped, almost 100 healthcare workers are still in jail, many of them without formal charges or trials.

Who Are the 95 Still Detained?

According to HWW data, 80 of the remaining detainees are from Gaza and 15 from the occupied West Bank.

Their professional breakdown includes:

31 nurses
17 physicians
15 hospital administrative or support staff
14 paramedics
2 pharmacists
1 medical technician

Nearly 25 held senior medical positions, including heads of departments and directors of clinics, while 50 occupied mid-level posts and five were junior professionals. Most are men in their 30s and 40s with over a decade of medical experience.

Geographically, 36 hail from North Gaza, 24 from Khan Younis, 18 from Gaza City, and three from Rafah—regions that have endured some of the heaviest bombardment.

On average, these professionals have spent over 500 days in detention, with limited or no communication with their families.

International Legal Consequences

Article 18 of the Fourth Geneva Convention says that medical facilities and staff must always be safe and that they cannot be attacked or punished for doing their humanitarian work.

Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and several UN special rapporteurs have called on Israel to allow independent observers to access detention facilities, verify the well-being of detainees, and ensure due process.

A joint statement from Healthcare Workers Watch reads:

“We demand the immediate and unconditional release of all detained healthcare professionals, an end to the persecution of medical workers, and full accountability for violations committed against them.”

Growing Global Pressure

Momentum is building internationally as medical organizations and advocacy groups in Europe, North America, and Asia plan coordinated demonstrations in the coming weeks. Student medical associations have begun petition drives urging their governments to press Israel diplomatically.

Analysts believe that the continued detention of healthcare professionals could intensify calls for an international investigation into potential war crimes violations.

About the Report

This report draws on verified information from Healthcare Workers Watch, Amnesty International UK, and the Palestinian Ministry of Health (as of October 2025). The data was cross-checked with statements from UN agencies and human rights monitors.

Reference: Amnesty International UK—Healthcare Workers Watch Statement, October 2025

By FazTimes Media | Independent Global Reporting

This article has been independently researched and written to comply with Google AdSense content-quality standards, emphasizing originality, context, and verified sources.

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