The medical aid group Doctors Without Borders (also known by its French name, Médecins Sans Frontières, or MSF) demanded on July 20, 2026, that Israel immediately release all Palestinian healthcare workers it is holding without clear legal reason. The group pointed to harsh detention conditions and the solitary confinement of Dr. Hussam Abu Safia, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza. MSF said it was "outraged by the treatment of healthcare workers, most of whom are being detained in dire conditions, without justification or cause" (MSF).

Israel is holding Dr. Abu Safia without a trial. The government has labeled him an "unlawful combatant," a legal category that lets the state hold someone without filing charges or setting a trial date. His lawyer, Nasser Odeh, warned that the doctor's health was in danger and that he showed signs of being tortured regularly since Israeli forces detained him more than a year and a half ago. Before his detention, Dr. Abu Safia had spoken publicly about how Israel's war was damaging Gaza's healthcare system. MSF said his treatment "follows an appalling pattern of the Israeli authorities detaining and targeting medical staff across Palestine."

MSF also called for the "immediate and unconditional release" of Dr. Mohammed Obeid, a surgeon who repairs bones and joints. He has been imprisoned for over 600 days after being arrested while working at Kamal Adwan Hospital. The organization demanded that all detained medical workers get proper medical care and be treated with dignity while waiting for release.

According to data from a monitoring group called Healthcare Workers Watch, MSF reported that 95 Palestinian healthcare workers remain in Israeli detention since October 2023. Healthcare Workers Watch also reported in April 2026 that 446 Palestinian healthcare workers have been detained by Israeli forces since October 7, 2023. Six Palestinian healthcare workers have reportedly been killed while in Israeli detention, and their bodies are still being held by Israel. Another group, Physicians for Human Rights Israel, reports that more than 50 healthcare workers are currently being held in inhumane conditions, including 15 doctors. That group has filed a formal request with the Israeli Supreme Court asking for the workers' release (Al Jazeera).

Two United Nations bodies have also called for Israel to release Dr. Abu Safia and all detained medical personnel: the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which investigates cases where people are locked up without legal basis. MSF stated that "for too long, too many world leaders have failed to condemn Israel's conduct in Palestine. Silence has become complicity."

The broader context here is that pressure is building on Israel from several directions at once. A global medical charity, United Nations human rights experts, and an Israeli civil rights group are all pushing for the same thing through different channels. The UN route goes through international human rights bodies. The domestic route goes through Israel's own Supreme Court, where Physicians for Human Rights Israel has filed a petition. Think of it as two separate court cases happening at the same time, one in the international system and one inside Israel itself.

Israel's use of the "unlawful combatant" label is the legal tool that makes these detentions possible. Normally, if someone is accused of a crime, they get a trial. If they are captured as a prisoner of war, they have certain protections under international agreements. But the "unlawful combatant" category skips both of those paths, letting the state hold people for long periods without charging them. The reports of torture and solitary confinement, which the detainees' lawyers say they have witnessed, raise questions about whether Israel is breaking its obligations under an international treaty called the Convention Against Torture, which Israel has signed.

The scale of the detentions also makes Gaza's medical crisis worse. With 95 healthcare workers reportedly still detained and 446 put through the system since October 2023, the loss of doctors and nurses means fewer people are available to treat the wounded. When hospital directors and specialized surgeons like Dr. Obeid are removed, it directly affects whether hospitals in northern Gaza can provide emergency care at all.

MSF's statement that "silence has become complicity" is aimed not just at Israel but at other countries around the world. The argument is that governments that stay quiet while these detentions continue share some responsibility. Under the Geneva Conventions — a set of international rules for war — countries have a duty to make sure medical workers are protected in conflict zones. Whether Israel's own Supreme Court or international pressure will lead to any change in detention policy is the key question for the medical workers who remain in custody.