Doctors Without Borders Demands Immediate Release of Palestinian Medical Staff by Israel

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has issued an urgent appeal demanding the immediate and unconditional release of all Palestinian healthcare workers detained by Israeli authorities. In an official statement, the international organization expressed its strong condemnation of the humiliating treatment endured by doctors and nurses, noting that most are held in detention centers lacking the most basic human necessities, without clear charges or legal justification.

MSF specifically highlighted the case of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip, who was arrested by Israeli forces in December 2024. The organization emphasized the need to respond to escalating international calls to end his detention, describing the targeting of medical personnel as a systematic and disgraceful behavior aimed at undermining the healthcare system in Palestine.

In contrast, Israeli authorities maintain their position, claiming that Dr. Abu Safiya's detention is based on legal grounds, while simultaneously denying medical reports indicating a deterioration of his health to a critical stage. This Israeli intransigence comes despite strong warnings issued by UN human rights experts and a UN investigation team who expressed grave concern over the fate of the Palestinian doctor.

On the ground, the French capital, Paris, witnessed a solidarity movement in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where dozens of doctors, activists, and trade unionists gathered to demand pressure on Israel to release Abu Safiya. Participants raised slogans condemning the targeting of medical facilities and their staff, affirming that the protection of medical teams is an international obligation that should not be subject to political or military calculations.

Doctors Without Borders also shed light on the suffering of orthopedic surgeon Mohammed Obeid, one of its staff members who has been in detention for over 600 days under what it described as extremely harsh conditions. Sources clarified that Obeid was abducted by Israeli forces while performing his professional duties inside Kamal Adwan Hospital in October 2024, and since then, all means of communication between him and his family have been cut off.

The non-governmental organization reiterated its categorical rejection of arbitrary detention policies, torture, and physical and psychological assaults against Palestinian medical personnel. The organization strongly criticized the international community's silence, considering that the failure of world leaders to condemn these blatant violations has contributed to the occupying authorities' persistence in their practices against the healthcare sector.

In a related context, the organization revealed the extent of human losses it has suffered since the outbreak of the aggression on the Gaza Strip in October 2023, with 15 of its staff members killed during ongoing military operations. It affirmed that the continued targeting of humanitarian and medical workers seriously impedes the ability of international organizations to provide vital aid to the besieged population.

Doctors Without Borders concluded its statement by emphasizing the necessity of providing adequate medical care to all detainees and ensuring detention conditions that preserve their human dignity until their release. It stressed that the protection of hospitals and their staff is not an option, but a necessity imposed by international humanitarian law, which appears to be facing a real test in the Palestinian territories.

We demand the immediate release of all arbitrarily detained medical personnel, who must be provided with adequate medical care and detention conditions that ensure their dignity.