Israel’s ongoing offensive and devastating siege on Gaza have brought its entire population of over 2 million people to the brink of famine. The people of Gaza desperately need medical and humanitarian care, and courageous health workers are doing everything possible to provide it. Yet just when they are needed most, hundreds of Palestinian health workers are unable to help, illegally and arbitrarily held in Israeli prisons without charge or justification.

Those detained include six of my MedGlobal colleagues. Despite our co nsistent inquiries and protests, Israeli authorities have so far failed to provide basic information regarding their detention: no legal justification or formal charges; no updates on their health or conditions of captivity.

These healthcare workers are not combatants, they are not criminals, and they are not mere statistics. They have families and they play lifesaving roles in their communities. Or they did until their arbitrary arrests. They have now been detained for months, some since October of last year.

Every day that my colleagues remain detained without charge or due process sends a reverberating message that warring parties need not show restraint or proportionality, and that civilian medics are legitimate targets.

The notorious case of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital and MedGlobal’s lead physician in Gaza, is emblematic of this crisis. Dr. Abu Safiya is one of the most renowned and revered physicians in Gaza. He bravely kept the North Gaza hospital’s operations running as well as possible even as it was bombed, besieged, and attacked by drones—and even as he himself was wounded in an Israeli strike and his own son killed in an attack just outside the hospital. He documented the increasingly desperate situation with social media posts, media interviews, and twoop-eds published in The New York Times.

In his last message to me in late December 2024, Dr. Abu Safiya said that the previous night’s “bombardment directly targeted the entrance to the emergency and reception area [resulting] in 12 injuries among doctors, nurses, and administrative staff.” He then appealed for “international protection for our health system and staff in the north, so we can preserve the lives of patients and injured individuals who require humanitarian assistance around the clock.” On December 27, Dr Abu Safya was detained by Israeli forces without charge. He has been classified by Israel as an “unlawful combatant,” stripping him of due process and prolonging his detention indefinitely.

© Common Dreams