Rights groups call for release of Gaza’s healthcare workers abducted by Israel during war
Four prominent human rights organizations have called for the release of hundreds of the Gaza Strip’s healthcare workers abducted by the Israeli regime during the genocidal war against the blockaded Palestinian territory.
In a joint statement on Wednesday, Children Not Numbers, Human Rights Watch, MedGlobal and Physicians for Human Rights - Israel urged all the parties in the Gaza ceasefire talks “to secure the release” of hundreds of essential healthcare workers from the war-torn territory who have been unlawfully detained by the Israeli military.
“Physicians for Human Rights - Israel has collected testimonies revealing the severe conditions faced by detained healthcare workers, including torture, beatings, humiliation, starvation, isolation from legal representation, and incommunicado detention. These individuals have been detained without charges and subjected to enforced disappearance, violating international law,” the statement read.
The rights group stressed that these detentions have “devastated Gaza’s already decimated healthcare system”, emphasizing that releasing the abductees is a humanitarian imperative legally demanded under international humanitarian law.
The detentions have crippled Gaza’s already shattered healthcare system, with over 500 medical personnel killed, the remaining staff “overwhelmed by more than 110,000 wounded civilians”, and the absence of a functional medical evaluation system exacerbating their suffering, they added, stressing that the release of detained health workers is “crucial to saving lives in Gaza's ongoing humanitarian crisis.”
“Gaza's irreplaceable health workers - surgeons, pediatricians, gynecologists, obstetricians, orthopedists, and emergency responders - are vital for saving lives and sustaining essential medical services. As hostage exchange negotiations progress, we call for unlawfully detained medical personnel to be released,” the signatories demanded.
Last month, the World Health Organization (WHO) said only half of Gaza’s 36 hospitals remain partially operational.
The 15-month-long Israeli genocidal war, began in October 2023, has damaged or partly destroyed nearly all hospitals and just 38 percent of primary healthcare centers are functional.
An estimated 25 percent of those injured face life-changing injuries and will need ongoing rehabilitation.
Hamas says to conduct captive-prisoner exchange if Israel honors commitments
Most Americans oppose Trump's plot to ‘take over’ Gaza: Poll
Israel still restricting vital aid to Gaza Strip as 801 trucks enter: UN
Rights groups urge release of Gaza’s healthcare workers abducted by Israel
VIDEO | Press TV's news headlines
Deadly bombing attack targets Taliban ministry building in Kabul
Hamas says to conduct captive-prisoner exchange if Israel honors commitments
Pezeshkian asserts ‘self-reliant’ Iran will resolve problems despite sanctions
VIDEO | ‘Gaza is Our Home’ an effort to uncover sufferings of Palestinians in Gaza Strip
Iran launches new indigenous coastguard vessels during Pezeshkian's Bushehr visit
Most Americans oppose Trump's plot to ‘take over’ Gaza: Poll
PressTV NEWSLETTER
now
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
