Israeli Medicine: Palestinian Patient & Doctor Concerns
News outlets are examining the Israeli medical system’s response to the Gaza attacks, uncovering serious concerns for Palestinian patients and doctors. Experts allege complicity in the violence,reporting mistreatment and censorship. Accounts detail detained doctors enduring torture and neglect, while calls for international pressure on Israeli medical institutions are growing. The findings, co-authored by Neve Gordon and Guy Shalev, highlight the challenges Palestinian medical workers face within the system, including a perceived “witch hunt” and censorship of their expression. News Directory 3 is following this story closely. What dose the future hold for healthcare in the region, and how will international bodies respond to these mounting accusations? Discover what’s next.
Israeli Medical System Faces Criticism Amid Gaza Attacks
Updated June 06, 2025
The Israeli medical establishment is under scrutiny for its alleged response to attacks on Gaza’s health system. Allegations include mistreatment of Palestinian medical workers and a lack of condemnation for the violence.
Neve Gordon, professor of international law and human rights at Queen Mary University of London, and Guy Shalev, executive director of Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, co-authored an article in The New York Review of Books detailing their findings. They claim the Israeli medical establishment has largely supported the assault on Gaza, including actions that have decimated its medical infrastructure.
Shalev reported that collecting testimonies from Palestinian health workers was initially arduous. Once access was granted, accounts emerged of doctors detained while working or crossing checkpoints. These doctors allegedly faced torture, medical neglect, and violence in Israeli facilities. Shalev said that three doctors and one paramedic died in Israeli custody,part of a larger total of 90 Palestinian detainees who have died in the past 20 months.
According to Shalev, investigations revealed that detained doctors were pressed to provide information about hospital structures, a violation of international law. Many were held without trial or charges, and approximately 150 medical personnel remain in Israeli detention.
Palestinians represent a significant portion of Israel’s medical workforce, comprising 25% of all doctors and nearly 50% of new doctors and nurses. However, Shalev noted a “witch hunt” against these workers since Oct. 7.Social media posts were scrutinized, leading to hearings and firings for expressions of support or compassion for people in Gaza. This created an atmosphere of censorship and silence, Shalev said.
What we found is that the support for Israel’s assault on Gaza, the genocidal assault, including the decimation of its medical system, including the killing of 1,400 health workers, including the detention and disappearance of 400 medical doctors and healthcare workers, including the torture of detainees, has been supported by the Israeli medical establishment through and through…
What’s next
Gordon is calling for international pressure on Israeli medical institutions. He suggests that institutions in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and Europe should assess their partnerships with Israeli counterparts and consider ending those relationships until Israel changes its policies toward Palestinians.