JERUSALEM — Physicians for Human Rights-Israel filed a petition to the Supreme Court demanding the immediate release of 14 doctors from Gaza who have been held without charge for more than a year. The petition was filed after Israeli military Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir failed to respond to a request to release the doctors.

The group of detained medics includes paediatricians, orthopaedic specialists and surgeons. PHRI said the continued detention of the doctors is hindering efforts to rehabilitate Gaza's healthcare system, and called on international actors to show solidarity in pushing for their release.

The petition was filed against the backdrop of a war between Israel and Palestinians in Gaza that has lasted more than two years.

Among those detained is Dr Hussam Abu Safia, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, who has been held without charge for nearly 18 months in Israeli custody. He was detained in December 2024 when Israeli forces stormed the hospital, which was the last functioning medical facility in northern Gaza at the time.

Muafaq Abu Safia said their lawyer informed them that Hussam Abu Safia lost 40 kg while in prison and suffered four fractured ribs along with other ailments. "All the crimes inflicted on him by the occupation [Israel] were just because he refused to leave the hospital and patients." Muafaq Abu Safia said.

United Nations experts have warned that Hussam Abu Safia has been subjected to severe torture. Amnesty International said his detention is part of a broader pattern by Israel aimed at dismantling Gaza's healthcare system and creating conditions that make it impossible for Palestinian society to exist.

Victoria Rose, a plastic surgeon who made several trips to Gaza between March 2024 and June 2025 to provide specialist care, said conditions during the war had deteriorated sharply. "During the height of the war, conditions were incomparable to what they had been before the conflict. The worst period was in May and June 2025. There was a complete blockade of fuel, water and food," Rose said.

Israel has denied deliberately targeting medical workers in Gaza and has accused Hamas of using hospitals for military purposes but has provided no credible evidence to support those claims.