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Israeli courts have rejected petitions seeking the release of 14 Palestinian doctors from the Gaza Strip who are being held without charge or trial, Physicians for Human Rights Israel said Wednesday, according to Anadolu Agency.
The rights group said the Supreme Court rejected petitions concerning the doctors, including hospital directors and specialists. Separately, the Lod District Court rejected a request for Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, to receive an independent medical examination and a second medical opinion.
Some of the 14 doctors have been detained for more than two years, the group said, as Gaza’s health system faces an acute shortage of medical personnel. It added that Abu Safiya’s records contained “concerning indications” requiring medical follow-up.
Abu Safiya was detained by the Israeli army on Dec. 27, 2024, during a raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital. Israel is holding him without charge or trial under its “Unlawful Combatants Law,” which allows prolonged detention based on intelligence files and classified evidence, according to the organization.
The group said Gaza’s health sector had been largely devastated during Israel’s genocide in the enclave since October 2023, and that around 90% of its overall infrastructure had been damaged or destroyed.
Medical records raise concerns, group says
Israeli professor Amit Tirosh, a specialist in internal medicine and endocrinology, prepared an opinion after reviewing Abu Safiya’s file held by the Israel Prison Service, Physicians for Human Rights Israel said. Tirosh identified health indicators that had not received the necessary examinations and care.
According to the records, Abu Safiya’s weight fell from 90 kilograms in January 2025 to 76 kilograms in May 2025. Tirosh also noted a decline in his hemoglobin level, a lack of tests to determine the cause of reported chest pain and a delay in diagnosing scabies.
“On July 5, 2026, Israel Prison Service records documented bruising around his left eye, along with dizziness and pain in his ribs,” the group said. It added that Abu Safiya had previously told his lawyer he was beaten by prison guards, while his medical records did not explain the cause of the documented injuries.
Tirosh concluded that information in the file conflicted with the court’s finding that Abu Safiya had no health problems other than high blood pressure, and said further examinations were needed. The court nevertheless refused to permit an examination by an independent physician, the organization said.
Tirosh has not been allowed to examine Abu Safiya in person, and the Israel Prison Service has refused to provide the group with updated medical records, preventing it from assessing his current condition.
Court cited security claims, rights group says
Physicians for Human Rights Israel said the court decision showed that Israeli authorities opposed an independent examination based on claims, some made in closed hearings, about Abu Safiya’s international contacts and alleged influence over other detainees. The group said the international campaign calling for his release was also cited in the decision.
The organization rejected those arguments as grounds for denying Abu Safiya an independent medical opinion. It said he was held in solitary confinement for a period beginning in June 2026 and is now detained with one other prisoner, without contact with the wider detainee population.
The group said Israeli law and Israel Prison Service regulations guarantee the right to a second medical opinion, which should not depend on a detainee’s public profile or security allegations against him.
About 9,350 Palestinians are currently held in Israeli prisons, including around 350 children and 90 women, according to Palestinian and Israeli rights organizations. Rights groups say detainees have faced torture, starvation and medical neglect, and that dozens have died in Israeli custody.
Abuses against Palestinian detainees have intensified since October 2023, the organizations say, amid Israel’s genocide in Gaza, which has killed more than 74,000 Palestinians and injured over 175,000, most of them women and children.
