IOF assaulted and humiliated Gaza medics after hospital raid: BBC
9 Min Read
A total of 49 medical staff from Nasser Hospital have reportedly been detained, abused, and humiliated, according to accounts provided by the BBC.
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Verified footage shows medics detained by IOF after Nasser Hospital raid. (BBC)
Palestinian medical personnel in Gaza recounted instances of being blindfolded, detained, stripped, and subjected to repeated beatings by Israeli troops following a hospital raid last month, BBC reported.
Ahmed Abu Sabha, a doctor at Nasser Hospital, recounted to BBC a week-long detention where he endured attacks by muzzled dogs and suffered a broken hand by an Israeli soldier.
Two other medics shared similar experiences and chose to remain anonymous due to fears of retaliation. They detailed being humiliated, beaten, soaked with cold water, and forced into uncomfortable positions for extended periods. They also reported being detained for days before eventual release.
The Israeli occupation forces conducted a raid on the hospital in Khan Younis, a southern city in Gaza, on February 15. This hospital was one of the few still operational in the besieged region.
BBC obtained video captured clandestinely within the hospital on February 16, the same day the medics were apprehended.
In the footage, a line of individuals can be seen stripped down to their underwear, kneeling in front of the hospital's emergency structure with their hands behind their heads. Some of them have medical attire strewn in front of them.
"Anybody who tried to move his head or make any movement got hit," the hospital's general manager, Dr Atef Al-Hout, said as quoted by BBC. "They left them for around two hours in this shameful position," he added.
Medical personnel recounted that they were subsequently forced to move into a hospital structure, subjected to physical assault, and then transferred to a detention center while still unclothed.
'A crossover into the category of cruel and inhumane treatment'
Dr. Abu Sabha, a 26-year-old recently certified doctor and volunteer medic at Nasser Hospital, characterized certain aspects of his detention as torture, such as being compelled to stand for extended periods without respite. He mentioned other forms of punishment endured by detainees, including prolonged periods of lying on their stomachs and extended delays in receiving meals, as per the report.
A specialist in humanitarian law expressed deep concern regarding both the footage and the statements given by the medical staff to the BBC, deeming them "extremely concerning." He indicated that certain testimonies undoubtedly "very clearly cross over into the category of cruel and inhumane treatment."
Dr. Lawrence Hill-Cawthorne, co-director of the Centre for International Law at the University of Bristol, said as quoted by BBC, "It goes against what has for a long time been a very fundamental idea in the law that applies in armed conflict, which is that hospitals and medical staff are protected."
"The fact that they treat nationals of the enemy side should not in any way undermine their protection," he added.
'Israel' kidnapped 49 Nasser medical staff, whereabouts unknown
BBC's report also highlighted that 49 Nasser medical staff have been reported to have been detained. Of these, 26 were corroborated by multiple sources, including local medics, the health ministry in Gaza, international organizations, and families of the missing individuals.
Relatives of five more hospital staff members have reported that their loved ones cannot be located. Additionally, the International Committee of the Red Cross has confirmed as reported by BBC that it has received numerous calls from individuals stating that their family members, including medical staff who were at Nasser Hospital, are currently missing.
In further detail, medics who stayed at Nasser Hospital reported that the IOF's raid severely disrupted patient care. At the time of the IOF's raid, the hospital was treating nearly 200 patients, many of whom were bedridden, including six in the ICU, as stated by the general manager Dr. Hout.
The remaining staff members described being instructed to relocate seriously ill patients between buildings, being interrupted from their duties for interrogation, and being assigned patients with conditions they weren't trained to handle, all while working in cramped and unsanitary conditions.
According to multiple accounts from medics, 13 patients died in the days following the IOF's occupation of the hospital.
They indicated that a significant number of those patients had died due to the hospital's conditions, which included a shortage of electricity, water, and other essential resources necessary for Nasser's operations. A doctor provided images of bodies in bags on beds, which we have confirmed were captured in a ward at the hospital, BBC reported.
It is worth noting that the World Health Organization (WHO) reported on February 18 that the hospital faced shortages of food and essential medical supplies, leading to its cessation of operations. The remaining patients were transferred to other hospitals across Gaza, and the medical staff subsequently departed shortly thereafter.
IOF turned maternity building into 'more like a torture place'
Former detainees and other medical personnel told BBC that the maternity building, known as Mubarak, was transformed into a site where the IOF conducted interrogations and physically assaulted staff members. Dr. Abu Sabha initially remained with patients after the raid but was later relocated to Mubarak, which he described as having transformed into " more like a torture place".
"They put me on a chair and it was like a gallows," he said. "I heard sounds of ropes, so I thought I was going to be executed," he said.
"After that they broke a bottle and it [the glass] cut my leg and they left it to bleed. Then they started bringing doctor after doctor in and started putting them next to each other. I was hearing their names and their voices," he added.
All three of the detainees interviewed by BBC recounted being crowded onto military vehicles and subjected to physical assault as they were transported in a sizable group outside Gaza. They reported being beaten with sticks, hoses, rifle butts, and fists by soldiers.
"We were naked. Just wearing boxers. They piled us on top of each other. And they took us out of Gaza," one of the medics who wanted to remain anonymous said, as quoted by BBC.
"All along the way we were being hit and sworn at and humiliated. And they poured cold water on us."
It is worth noting that none of the three medics were informed of any particular charges against them. One of the freed detainees mentioned that IOF soldiers informed him two days after an interrogation that there was no evidence against him and that he would be released.
"I asked him, 'Who will compensate me for all the beatings and humiliation I've been through, that you did to me, while I knew that I wasn't involved in anything?' I don't have anything on you. No charges."
The three medics stated that they were blindfolded during their transport back to Gaza following their release, as per the report.
ICRC deeply concerned
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) stated that since October 7, "Israel" has barred them from visiting detention facilities, preventing them from accessing any detainees.
The ICRC expressed "deep concern" regarding the reports of arrests and continued detention of medical personnel, as per BBC's report.
"Wherever and whoever they may be, detainees need to be treated humanely and with dignity at all times, in accordance of international humanitarian law," it said.
"The ICRC has continuously called for, and is ready to immediately resume, detention visits in order to monitor the treatment of detainees and the conditions of detention," as reported by BBC.
An internal report from the United Nations has outlined extensive mistreatment of Palestinians detained and interrogated at improvised Israeli detention facilities since the onset of the genocidal war on Gaza. These findings parallel the descriptions provided by the medics.
IOF detained patients too
Meanwhile, a small number of medics were permitted to remain at Nasser Hospital to attend to the remaining patients.
According to Dr. Hout, the hospital's general manager, some patients were taken into custody during the raid, as per BBC's report.
In one video, an eyewitness at Nasser Hospital, IOF soldiers are seen pushing two hospital beds with the occupants' hands raised above their heads and tied with zip ties. The authenticity of this video has been verified.
Additionally, in separate footage released by the IOF, individuals can be observed lying on beds within the hospital grounds, their hands restrained with zip ties and raised similarly. However, the identities of these individuals and their subsequent fate remain unknown.
"People were dying of thirst. On my shoulders, I carried three gallons of water so that I can make people drink. What else could I do?," Dr. Hatim Rabaa, who also worked at Nasser, told BBC.
Several medical personnel reported that the IOF denied them permission to bury or relocate the bodies of patients who died due to the Israeli raid. According to the medics, the bodies were left indoors with staff and patients, leading to decomposition, BBC reported.
"The smell filled the whole department," Dr Rabaa said. "Patients were screaming 'Please remove them from here'. I was telling them 'it isn't in my hands'."
Read more: Israeli forces killed over 360 Gaza health workers since Oct. 7: MoH
