Palestinians arrested by the occupation army in the northern Gaza Strip (Reuters)

An Israeli doctor working in the secret prison established by the Israeli occupation army in the Negev after the attack of last October 7 revealed that the feet of prisoners from Gaza were amputated due to traces of handcuffs, stressing that the Israeli military and medical institutions are violating the law.

In a report published today, Thursday, Haaretz newspaper quoted a letter sent by the Israeli doctor to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, the Minister of Health, and the Attorney General, describing the field hospital that was established in “Sde Teman” prison to hold detainees from Gaza.

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The Israeli doctor said in the letter that this week, two prisoners had their legs amputated due to injuries resulting from the handcuffs, noting that this had “become routine.”

He added that prisoners are fed only through a pipette, defecate in diapers, and are constantly restrained, stressing that this violates medical ethics and the law.

A satellite image shows a huge expansion of the Sde Timan prison (Al Jazeera)

He also confirmed that all patients detained in the hospital in Sde Teman prison are blindfolded and shackled on all four limbs at all times, regardless of how “dangerous” they are classified by the Israeli army, as he put it.

He pointed out that detained patients lose weight after a week or two of treatment in the prison hospital, even if they are healthy.

According to the doctor, more than half of the patients in the prison hospital are transferred to him due to injuries as a result of their hands being constantly handcuffed with metal handcuffs while they are detained in Sde Timan.

The doctor stated that prisoners who undergo surgical operations in the prison hospital are quickly transferred to prison again without having a recovery period, adding that the prison doctor is often untrained or unspecialized, stressing that this causes complications that may lead to the death of prisoner patients.

In addition to the doctor's message, the newspaper quoted other medical sources as saying that at the beginning of the war, the hand of one of the detainees who sustained injuries due to being handcuffed for a long period of time was amputated.

Breaking the law

In his letter, the doctor warned the Israeli military and health services that they were violating the law by allowing violations to continue in the secret prison in the Negev, saying that the prison did not operate within the “Detention of Unlawful Combatants” law, which Israel amended last December.

The doctor also said that health institutions do not send medicines to those suffering from chronic diseases, or the necessary medical equipment to the prison hospital in the Negev.

The Israeli Ministry of Health responded to the doctor's letter, saying that "the medical treatment provided in Sde Teman prison complies with international rules and treaties to which Israel is bound."

While the Israeli army spokesman said in response to the letter, “The army works in accordance with the law when it comes to the treatment of detainees, and every procedure is documented and monitored, for the sake of the human dignity of the detainees.”

Hundreds of detainees

The newspaper reported that the number of detainees in Sde Timan prison ranges between 600 and 800 prisoners from Gaza.

Haaretz also quoted the Israeli Prison Service as saying that there are about 849 detainees from Gaza being held in other Israeli prisons.

Source: Haaretz