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In the ruins of Gaza’s hospitals, doctors and nurses are not just healers, they have become targets. Testimonies of recently released Palestinian healthcare providers reveal shocking accounts of torture, humiliation, and systematic abuse by Israeli forces. These stories are documented in a new report by Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI), exposing what rights groups call a deliberate strategy to dismantle Gaza’s healthcare system.
Dr. Khaled Alserr, a 32 year old renowned Palestinian surgeon, still struggles to talk about his experience in Israeli detention. Arrested in March 2024 at Gaza’s Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, along with other health workers, during an Israeli raid, he remembered being forced to undress in public, beaten, had dog attacks, starvation, sensory overload, boiling water poured on them and forced to make animal sounds.
“Soldiers ordered us to bray like donkeys and crawl on our knees”, Alserr told Al Jazeera in a shaky voice. “They laughed and filmed us. It wasn’t just torture, it was humiliation.”
Alongside 40 other medical staff, Alserr was detained for months without charges. His crime? Refusing to leave behind patients during Israel’s attack on the hospital.
Systematic Targeting of Medical Workers
The PHRI report, Torture of Medical Workers in Israel, unveils a harrowing reality, since October 2023 health workers are subjected to brutal interrogations involving forced nudity, sexual harassment, and stress positions. Doctors have been assaulted for asking questions about their patients, while nurses were deprived of food for days.
According to the World Health Organization, Israel has taken into custody 297 health professionals since October 2023, including doctors, nurses, paramedics and other critical health professionals. Palestinian watchdog Healthcare Workers Watch estimates that 338 Palestinian health professionals have been held during the Gaza war. Physicians for Human Rights reports that over 180 of them are still detained with "no clear indication of when, or if, they will be released."
Najji Abbas, a PHRI researcher, claims that this is no coincidence but a deliberate policy aimed at dismantling Gaza's medical system. He said it is a stark violation of the Geneva Convention, which protects medical workers.
Over 1,000 health professionals have been killed in the war, according to the UN, hospitals bombed, and the health system has deteriorated even more.
Israeli forces have been breaking into hospitals, forcing medical staff to leave their patients or risk being arrested. Those who stay behind are subjected to public humiliation, naked and paraded in degrading positions. During interrogations, medics are tortured for information about Hamas, even when they have nothing to provide.
The testimonies are chilling, a nurse describes weeks of being blindfolded, while a dentist Dr KJ describes soldiers threatening to cut his fingers for treating Hamas fighters. This report presents a horrific picture of systematic terror inflicted on those dedicated to saving lives.
Gaza's healthcare system is falling apart because hospitals and medical workers are being targeted. Reports say that 75% of hospitals have been damaged or destroyed, making it hard for the remaining hospitals to handle the needs of patients. There are only 12 doctors available for every 1 million people, which means many people can't get proper care. Patients with cancer are dying because they cannot receive treatment, and newborn babies are left without incubators to survive.
Dr. Marwan al-Hams, director of Gaza's European Hospital, explained that arresting doctors is like giving patients a death sentence, showing how this crisis has made life even harder for everyone. These issues show how badly Gaza's healthcare needs help to stop further suffering.
The Physicians for Human Rights-Israel (PHRI) report includes video evidence showing survivors with scars from burns, broken bones, and severe malnourishment.
The Geneva Convention strictly protects healthcare workers during war, yet documented accounts by the UN and rights groups show these laws being blatantly violated. Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on Palestine, condemns the degrading treatment of medical professionals, stating, "Forcing doctors to strip or mock them is not just cruel, it’s a war crime."
For Gaza’s remaining doctors, fear is constant. “Every shift could be my last”, said Dr. Alserr, now working in a tent clinic. “But if I stop, who will save my people?” He said, “They broke our bodies, but not our will. Gaza’s healers will rise again.”
Human rights advocates are calling for the immediate release of detained healthcare workers, independent investigations into allegations of torture, and accountability for these violations of international law. Without justice, the suffering of Gaza's medical community remains a stark reminder of the global silence surrounding these atrocities.