Israel doctors participate in torture of Palestinian detainees, Al-Shifa director says

Medical staff in Israel’s military-run detention centre at Sde Teiman are participating in the torture of Palestinians, the BMJ Group, a weekly peer-reviewed medical journal, has reported.

The shocking allegations come from Dr Mohammed Abu Salmiya, the recently released director of Gaza City’s Al-Shifa Hospital. Abu Salmiya, a paediatrician and one of 50 Palestinian men freed from Israeli detention last week, described a harrowing experience of daily torture during his incarceration. He was detained by Israeli forces in November while evacuating the destroyed Al-Shifa Hospital in a World Health Organisation convoy.

“I was subjected to torture almost daily. My little finger was broken. I was repeatedly subjected to hitting on the head, causing bleeding multiple times,” he said.

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Most disturbingly, Abu Salmiya alleged direct involvement of medical professionals in the abuse. “The doctor there beats the detainees, and the nurse beats the detainees. This is in violation of all international laws,” he stated. He further claimed that medical negligence led to severe consequences for some detainees: “They amputated the feet of several prisoners, those who are suffering from diabetes symptoms due to the lack of medical treatment for them.”

These allegations represent a grave violation of medical ethics and international law. The involvement of healthcare professionals in torture is explicitly prohibited by the World Medical Association’s Declaration of Tokyo, which states that physicians must not participate in, be present during, or condone acts of torture or other forms of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.

Abu Salmiya’s account aligns with and further corroborates previous reports of abuse in Israeli detention facilities. Last month, lawyer Khaled Mahajneh provided a harrowing first-hand account of conditions at the Sde Teiman detention facility, which he described as a “death camp”. Mahajneh’s visit to the facility, where he met with detained journalist Muhammad Arab, revealed systematic abuse, sexual assault and inhumane treatment of Palestinian detainees.

According to Mahajneh, detainees at Sde Teiman are subjected to constant shackling and blindfolding, forced to sleep on bare floors, and provided with inadequate food and water. He reported instances of rape and sexual assault used as punishment for minor infractions, stating that “Six prisoners were stripped of their clothes and sexually assaulted with a stick in front of all the other prisoners.”

READ: Israel’s use of rape against Palestinian detainees from Gaza exposed

The conditions described by both Abu Salmiya and Mahajneh paint a picture of a detention system that violates basic human rights and international laws on the treatment of prisoners. Detainees are reportedly denied basic hygiene, with many refusing showers due to the risk of punishment for exceeding the allotted time. Medical care is described as severely lacking, with Mahajneh reporting instances of detainees being treated for injuries without anaesthesia by nursing students rather than qualified doctors.