Editor’s Note: This story contains graphic descriptions of violence and abuse. Israel has systematically targeted Palestinian healthcare workers in Gaza, arbitrarily detaining them without charge or access to legal counsel, and submitting them to torture and abuse, according to a new report by Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI). Between July and December, lawyers working with the Israeli nonprofit group said they visited over two dozen Palestinian medical workers, including physicians, nurses and paramedics, aged between at least 21 and 69, who had spent more than six months in isolation after having been seized by Israeli forces. In the 21-page report released Wednesday, PHRI said that the testimonies from healthcare personnel indicate that their arrests were primarily used by Israel to gather intelligence rather than investigate their alleged involvement in armed conflict or link them to criminal activity. “This suggests a systemic policy that violates human rights and, more broadly,…
