AP: Israel keeps 115 Palestinian healthcare workers in custody

Around 115 Palestinian healthcare workers detained in the Gaza Strip during the hostilities remain in Israeli custody.

Under Gaza’s ceasefire deal, Israel released dozens of doctors, nurses, paramedics and other medical personnel who had been seized during raids on hospitals, Caliber.Az reports, citing Associated Press (AP).

However, more than 100 medical workers, including Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya — director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza — remain in Israeli prisons.

Earlier, as part of a peace plan to resolve the Gaza conflict, Israeli authorities agreed to release 250 Palestinian prisoners serving life or long-term sentences, as well as over 1,700 residents of the enclave detained by Israeli forces since the start of the hostilities on October 7, 2023, in exchange for the return of 20 hostages.

The exchange was carried out on Monday, October 13, under the mediation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Following Hamas’s attack on October 7, 2023, Israel launched extensive air and ground operations in Gaza, enforcing a “complete siege” that cut off electricity, food, water, and fuel supplies to the enclave.

Israeli forces carried out repeated raids on hospitals, claiming that Hamas used these facilities for military purposes — an allegation denied by Palestinian officials and international humanitarian organisations.

During these operations, numerous medical workers were detained, and hospital infrastructure suffered severe damage.

One of the most notable incidents occurred at Kamal Adwan Hospital in December 2024, when Israeli forces detained over 240 Palestinians, including the hospital director, Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya.

Similar raids targeted Al-Shifa and Nasser hospitals, where staff and patients were rounded up, blindfolded, and transferred to undisclosed locations.

Human Rights Watch and The Guardian have documented reports of mistreatment, including beatings, deprivation, and torture of detained healthcare workers.

The most recent major attack took place on August 25, 2025, when Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis was hit in a double-tap airstrike that killed 22 people — among them doctors, patients, and journalists — and wounded around 50 others.

The bombing destroyed parts of the surgical ward and emergency facilities, further crippling Gaza’s already devastated healthcare system.

By Jeyhun Aghazada