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HRW calls for probe into Israeli assaults on Gaza healthcare workers

August 27, 2024 at 8:43 am

Doctors at Kemal Adwan Hospital are forced to work in darkness as patients at Kemal Adwan Hospital are being deprived of necessary treatment due to the electricity crisis and a shortage of medicine in Gaza City, Gaza on August 22, 2024 [Abdo Abu Salama/Anadolu via Getty Images]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called for a thorough investigation and appropriate punishment for the Israeli assaults on healthcare workers in Gaza.

“Israeli forces have arbitrarily detained Palestinian healthcare workers in Gaza since hostilities began in October 2023, deported them to detention facilities in Israel, and allegedly tortured and ill-treated them,” HRW said in a report released yesterday.

The detention of healthcare workers in the context of the Israeli military’s repeated attacks on hospitals in Gaza has contributed to the catastrophic degradation of the besieged territory’s healthcare system.

“The Israeli government’s mistreatment of Palestinian healthcare workers has continued in the shadows and needs to immediately stop,” said Balkees Jarrah, acting Middle East director at HRW.

Released doctors, nurses and paramedics have described to the organisation the mistreatment they endured in Israeli prisons, including humiliation, beatings, forced stress positions, prolonged blindfolding and deprivation of medical care. They also reported being subjected to torture, including rape and sexual assault by Israeli forces, as well as poor detention conditions for all detainees.

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