What 900 Days Does to Gaza Doctors
Physicians for Human Rights-Israel calls conditions at Naqab prison “catastrophic” after a lawyer visited four doctors, the longest held for nearly two and a half years. None has been charged.
Four Palestinian doctors from Gaza have been held without charge for up to 900 days. Not one has been told why.
A lawyer for Physicians for Human Rights-Israel visited the four recently at Naqab prison and called their conditions “catastrophic.” The doctors are Dr. Mohammed Obeid, held about 540 days; Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, about 500 days; Dr. Murad al-Qouqa, more than 780 days; and Dr. Akram Abu Ouda, about 900 days. None has been charged. None has a release date.
The doctors say nothing has improved. Food is “critically insufficient,” not enough to keep them healthy. Scabies has gone untreated even as it spreads through the prison.
Each man has one set of clothes. Soap and basic supplies are nearly gone. Guards confiscate mattresses during the day, leaving them on bare metal frames or the floor for hours.
Al-Qouqa has lost roughly 35 kilograms since his arrest. Several of the doctors have chronic conditions that prison authorities do not treat. Abu Safiya and Abu Ouda had their prescription glasses taken and asked for replacements. The prison ignored them.
Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, was arrested in late 2024 after occupation forces stormed the facility. He is one of the most prominent medical figures Israel has detained. Human rights organizations and UN agencies have repeatedly called for his release and demanded assurances about his health.
Israeli courts extended all four detentions indefinitely in recent months, still without filing a single charge. Rights groups say the cases are part of a broader pattern of abuse against Palestinian medical workers in Israeli custody.
