[[{"content_id":416625,"content_number":0,"portal_id":2,"lang_id":"en","content_title":"Medical staff in Gaza show solidarity with imprisoned colleagues","content_rtitr":"","content_short_title":null,"content_summary":"Medical personnel held a solidarity protest on Sunday in the courtyard of Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City, reaffirming their support for fellow doctors, nurses, and paramedics detained in Israeli prisons amid escalating violations against them since the outbreak of the genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023.","content_summary_fill":1,"content_body":"Dozens of healthcare workers participated in the protest, wearing white medical uniforms in a symbolic display reflecting their commitment to their humanitarian mission despite being directly targeted.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nThe protest was held as part of Palestinian Prisoners’ Day activities, with participants emphasizing that the detention of medical staff constitutes a “compound crime,” targeting a protected group under international law and depriving the healthcare system of its workforce at a critical time.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nThe event included symbolic actions, most notably inscribing the number “362” on the ground of the complex, representing the number of medical personnel detained by Israeli forces during the war, in an effort to highlight the scale of targeting of the healthcare sector.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nPhotos of detainees were also displayed on ambulances around the hospital, accompanied by their names and dates of arrest, alongside banners condemning the violations, including: “Medical neglect is a slow execution of prisoners” and “Medical personnel are protected under international law during wartime.”\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nIn the same context, Gaza’s Ministry of Health warned that the continued detention of 83 medical workers amounts to a “de facto execution of the right to life” and constitutes a blatant violation of international conventions. Acting Deputy Minister Maher Shamia said that what these detainees are facing “goes beyond arbitrary detention to systematic targeting of their humanitarian mission.”\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nShamia noted that during the war, Israeli forces deliberately targeted the healthcare system by destroying hospitals, killing more than 1,700 medical personnel, and arresting 362 others, 83 of whom remain in detention. He stressed that “abducting doctors from their workplaces and paramedics from the field is a full-fledged war crime.”\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nHe added that around 9,600 prisoners are currently held in Israeli prisons, including thousands of administrative detainees, while 326 prisoners have died due to torture and ill-treatment, including 52 from Gaza.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nShamia expressed concern over the continued enforced disappearance of medical personnel and Israel’s refusal to disclose their detention locations, warning of the risks amid increasingly harsh punitive measures. He questioned: “Is the world waiting for severe sentences to be carried out before taking action?”\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nParticipants in the protest called on international institutions, particularly the International Committee of the Red Cross and the World Health Organization, to assume their responsibilities and pressure for transparency regarding detainees’ conditions and to ensure they receive necessary medical care.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nFor his part, former detainee and nurse Mohammad Tafesh said the protest was held in solidarity with detained medical workers and in rejection of their detention conditions, noting that they are “subjected to various forms of abuse and torture,” and that their imprisonment “contradicts humanitarian laws.”\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nSimilarly, former detainee and nurse Saleh Al-Arabi said that the action aims to remind the world of the issue of detained medical personnel, stressing that “their only ‘crime’ was carrying out their humanitarian duty,” and calling for urgent international action to secure their release.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nAt the conclusion of the protest, participants signed a petition demanding the immediate release of detained medical staff, affirming that this action is part of an ongoing series of efforts to keep their case visible and to highlight the targeting of the healthcare system in the Gaza Strip.\r\n\r\n ","content_html":"

Dozens of healthcare workers participated in the protest, wearing white medical uniforms in a symbolic display reflecting their commitment to their humanitarian mission despite being directly targeted.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

The protest was held as part of Palestinian Prisoners’ Day activities, with participants emphasizing that the detention of medical staff constitutes a “compound crime,” targeting a protected group under international law and depriving the healthcare system of its workforce at a critical time.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

The event included symbolic actions, most notably inscribing the number “362” on the ground of the complex, representing the number of medical personnel detained by Israeli forces during the war, in an effort to highlight the scale of targeting of the healthcare sector.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

Photos of detainees were also displayed on ambulances around the hospital, accompanied by their names and dates of arrest, alongside banners condemning the violations, including: “Medical neglect is a slow execution of prisoners” and “Medical personnel are protected under international law during wartime.”<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

In the same context, Gaza’s Ministry of Health warned that the continued detention of 83 medical workers amounts to a “de facto execution of the right to life” and constitutes a blatant violation of international conventions. Acting Deputy Minister Maher Shamia said that what these detainees are facing “goes beyond arbitrary detention to systematic targeting of their humanitarian mission.”<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

Shamia noted that during the war, Israeli forces deliberately targeted the healthcare system by destroying hospitals, killing more than 1,700 medical personnel, and arresting 362 others, 83 of whom remain in detention. He stressed that “abducting doctors from their workplaces and paramedics from the field is a full-fledged war crime.”<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

He added that around 9,600 prisoners are currently held in Israeli prisons, including thousands of administrative detainees, while 326 prisoners have died due to torture and ill-treatment, including 52 from Gaza.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

Shamia expressed concern over the continued enforced disappearance of medical personnel and Israel’s refusal to disclose their detention locations, warning of the risks amid increasingly harsh punitive measures. He questioned: “Is the world waiting for severe sentences to be carried out before taking action?”<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

Participants in the protest called on international institutions, particularly the International Committee of the Red Cross and the World Health Organization, to assume their responsibilities and pressure for transparency regarding detainees’ conditions and to ensure they receive necessary medical care.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

For his part, former detainee and nurse Mohammad Tafesh said the protest was held in solidarity with detained medical workers and in rejection of their detention conditions, noting that they are “subjected to various forms of abuse and torture,” and that their imprisonment “contradicts humanitarian laws.”<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

Similarly, former detainee and nurse Saleh Al-Arabi said that the action aims to remind the world of the issue of detained medical personnel, stressing that “their only ‘crime’ was carrying out their humanitarian duty,” and calling for urgent international action to secure their release.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

At the conclusion of the protest, participants signed a petition demanding the immediate release of detained medical staff, affirming that this action is part of an ongoing series of efforts to keep their case visible and to highlight the targeting of the healthcare system in the Gaza Strip.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>","content_source":"","content_url":"","content_date_start":"2026-04-20 10:43:55","content_date_event":"2026-04-20 10:43:55","content_date_event_start":null,"content_date_event_end":null,"content_show_title_slider":1,"content_date_last_edit":"2026-04-20 10:44:43","content_date_register":"2026-04-20 10:44:43","content_columns":0,"content_show_img":1,"content_show_details":0,"content_show_related_img":0,"content_show_slider":1,"content_comment":1,"content_score":0,"tag_id":0,"score_average":null,"score_count":null,"score_date_last":null,"uid":43,"eid":0,"attach_title":"Medical staff in Gaza show solidarity with imprisoned colleagues","attaches":[{"sizes":{"150":".\/cache\/2\/attach\/202604\/569078_1710448966_150_100.webp","300":".\/cache\/2\/attach\/202604\/569078_1710448966_300_200.webp","400":".\/cache\/2\/attach\/202604\/569078_1710448966_400_267.webp","600":".\/cache\/2\/attach\/202604\/569078_1710448966_600_400.webp","900":".\/cache\/2\/attach\/202604\/569078_1710448966_900_600.webp","1200":".\/cache\/2\/attach\/202604\/569078_1710448966_1200_800.webp"},"ext":"jpg","file_media":1,"token":1710448966,"files":{"original":{"url":".\/file\/2\/attach\/202604\/569078_1710448966.jpg","width":1280,"height":853,"size":0}}}]}]]