Israeli courts reject petitions for release of 14 Palestinian doctors
The rights group says the detained doctors include hospital directors and specialists, and that Gaza's health sector urgently needs them.
Israeli courts have rejected two petitions seeking the release of 14 Palestinian doctors from Gaza, the rights group Physicians for Human Rights-Israel said on Thursday, according to WAFA.
The group said the doctors are held in Israeli prisons without trial, some for more than two years.
It argued that their detention deprives patients in Gaza of essential care at a time when the territory faces a severe shortage of medical personnel.
Naji Abbas of the group said the two rulings reflect the scale of violations faced by Palestinian doctors held in Israel and the judiciary's failure to protect their rights.
Abbas said the 14 doctors include hospital directors and specialists in critical medical fields, and all remain behind bars without charges or trial.
Abbas stressed that detainees must not lose their medical rights because of their public profile or security allegations against them.
He added that Israel cannot keep detaining doctors without trial while denying them their most basic right to medical care.
Gaza's health system has been badly strained since the war that followed the Hamas-led attacks on Israel in October 2023, and many hospitals have struggled to operate.
Rights groups have raised concerns about Israel's detention of Palestinians from Gaza during the war, including access to legal representation.
