The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza announced on Wednesday the martyrdom of Dr. Ziad Mohammad Al-Dalu in Israeli occupation prisons, after being arrested on March 18, 2024, while fulfilling his humanitarian duty at Al-Shifa Medical Complex.

The ministry condemned "this heinous crime against Palestinian medical staff," emphasizing that targeting healthcare workers while carrying out their humanitarian duties is a "flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and all international conventions."

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It also appealed to all international and human rights organizations "to intervene immediately to uncover the fate of dozens of Palestinian medical staff who have been abducted from hospitals while performing their medical and humanitarian duties."

"The continuation of these violations against health workers constitutes a systematic targeting of the Palestinian people and their institutions," the ministry added, stressing the "need to hold the occupation accountable before the international community for its crimes against medical staff and civilians."

'Continued in the shadows'

Human Rights Watch (HRW) revealed in a report last month that, since October 7 last year, Israeli occupation forces have detained Palestinian healthcare workers in Gaza, transported them to detention facilities in "Israel", and subjected them to torture and mistreatment.

The international organization warned that the detention of these workers, amid ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza’s hospitals, has further exacerbated the already dire state of the territory’s healthcare system.

Former detainees, including doctors, nurses, and paramedics have reported severe mistreatment while in Israeli detention. Their accounts include experiences of humiliation, beatings, forced stress positions, prolonged cuffing and blindfolding, and denial of medical care. Additionally, they described instances of torture, including rape and sexual abuse, as well as inadequate conditions for the general detainee population.

“The Israeli government’s mistreatment of Palestinian healthcare workers has continued in the shadows and needs to immediately stop,” said Balkees Jarrah, acting Middle East director at HRW.

“The torture and other ill-treatment of doctors, nurses, and paramedics should be thoroughly investigated and appropriately punished, including by the International Criminal Court (ICC),” he added.

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