For most of the current conflict, Dr. Eyas al-Bursh, a young Palestinian general practitioner, had worked as a volunteer doctor at Gaza City's main Shifa Hospital. But in March 2024, the 30-year-old was arrested with others after Israeli forces launched another major assault on the hospital. Blindfolded and handcuffed, he recounts being taken to Sde Teiman, a military detention center where an investigation by the Associated Press has previously exposed abuses.

"The journey was filled with relentless beatings, humiliation and insults," al-Bursh told DW via a voice message from inside Gaza. "We were struck with fists, feet, batons and even bare hands. Then at Sde Teiman, the treatment was worse than that of animals. We were kept handcuffed and blindfolded around the clock. From six in the morning until 11 at night, we were forbidden from sleeping during the day and forced to sit for long hours. The conditions were unbearable.”

Al-Bursh spent 11 months in detention and was released without charge in Febuary 2025.

His testimony is part of a report released this week by Physicians for Human Rights Israel, or PHRI, an Israeli advocacy organization. The report alleges that Gaza health workers who have been held without charge face systematic abuse, physical violence and interrogation without legal representation.

The report is based on the testimonies of 24 health workers, some of whom were released back to Gaza without charge after being detained for several months.

The report says that most of the medical personnel were detained using Israel's "Incarceration of Unlawful Combatants Law." Rights groups report that this law gives the Israeli military sweeping powers to detain anyone from Gaza they suspect of being involved in hostilities against Israel or posing a threat to Israel's security. The suspect may be detained indefinitely without charge, is denied access to legal counsel for extended periods after their arrest and may experience delays in judicial hearings.

PHRI alleges that medical workers were "forcibly removed, stripped, humiliated and subjected to brutal treatment," adding that "Israeli authorities have yet to present........

© Deutsche Welle