Four Palestinian Doctors from Gaza Starve and Suffer in Israeli Prison

JAKARTA - Four Palestinian doctors from the Gaza Strip who are detained in Israeli jails say they are suffering from hunger, describing their prison conditions as "catastrophic," according to an Israeli human rights group.

In a statement, Physicians for Human Rights Israel said one of its lawyers visited the four detainees at Negev Prison in southern Israel on May 11.

The organization identified the detainees as Dr. Mohammed Obeid, Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, Dr. Murad al-Qouqa, and Dr. Akram Abu Ouda.

The four doctors have been detained for a long time without being charged, according to the statement, reported by Anadolu (13/5).

According to the group, the prisoners confirmed that prison conditions had not improved, including the quantity and quality of food provided to them, which they described as "very inadequate and dangerous."

Doctors also reported the spread of scabies among prisoners amid a lack of care and an inadequate medical response to the disease.

The organization said the four doctors have been presented in Israeli courts in recent months, which have repeatedly extended their detention without charge or legal representation.

The prisoners described their prison conditions as "a disaster from a humanitarian and health perspective," according to the statement.

Abu Safiya, director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, was arrested on December 27, 2024, after Israeli soldiers stormed the facility and forced him out at gunpoint after destroying the complex and rendering it inoperable.

It is known that the Israeli army has killed more than 72,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured more than 172,000 others in a two-year genocide in Gaza since October 2023. Thousands of Palestinians were detained during the attack.