Israeli forces release Palestinian 'doctor of the poor ' with visible signs of abuse

Israeli forces released Palestinian doctor Mazen al-Rantisi, 71, from Ofer prison on Sunday after nearly four months in detention, with visible signs of physical abuse on his body. In a photo circulated on social media after his release, the physician appeared gaunt, with a prominent red wound on his forehead. Popularly described as the “doctor of the poor” for waiving fees, supplying medicines and operating a clinic that became a refuge for low-income Palestinians, al-Rantisi was detained in a pre-dawn raid on his home in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on 21 June. Prosecutors later indicted him for serving as chairman of the board of the Union of Health Work Committees, a Palestinian non-profit that provides medical care to thousands of Palestinians each year. Al-Rantisi previously told his lawyers that he has suffered physical abuse and medical neglect in custody in Ofer prison, according to a Haaretz report. He also said the prison authorities withheld his regular medication for the first 10 days in Ofer prison and are still denying him one of his medicines. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Dr Ahmed Muhanna, who was released in January after 665 days in detention, told Healthcare Workers Watch (HWW) on Tuesday that “doctors have been singled out as targets for detention” and face particularly brutal treatment in custody. Muhanna, who is the director of Al-Awda Hospital in Gaza, lost almost a third of his body weight while in detention. He said several of the Palestinian detainees died "as the […] Israeli jailers looked on", adding that the detained healthcare workers were prevented from helping other detainees, even those injured during violent interrogations. "Israel’s continued detention of nearly one hundred healthcare workers is in clear contravention of International Humanitarian Law," Dr Rebecca Inglis, of HWW, said on Tuesday. "We are gravely concerned for their welfare given the extensive evidence that Palestinian detainees are being tortured while in Israeli detention," she said. Over 90 healthcare professionals remain detained According to HWW, 80 Palestinian healthcare workers from Gaza and 14 from the occupied West Bank remain in Israeli detention. Most were abducted by the Israeli military from their hospitals or ambulances while on duty. Prominent doctors, including Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza, are among those who remain in Israeli prisons. Abu Safiya was abducted from Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza in December 2024 after he defied Israeli orders to evacuate the hospital, which was one of the last functioning medical facilities in the Gaza Strip at the time. He has been held without charge since then. A United Nations commission of inquiry said Abu Safiya faced “continued and severe abuse”, while his family and lawyer reported that he showed signs of severe torture. According to Physicians for Human Rights, Abu Safiya told his lawyer in early September that guards beat him and threatened him, telling the doctor he cannot talk about the conditions he is being held in. "The guards beat him in various parts of his body, including sensitive areas, using hands, feet and batons," the organisation and Abu Safiya's lawyer said. Israeli forces have killed over 1,700 health workers and detained 364 since the start of the aggression, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Six healthcare workers have died or been killed while in detention, and five more are missing, their whereabouts unknown, HWW said. The bodies have not yet been returned to their families.