Israeli doctor says detained Palestinians undergo ‘routine’ amputations due to handcuff-related injuries

A doctor at a field hospital for Palestinians detained at Israel’s Sde Teiman military base described “deplorable conditions” and “routine” amputations due to handcuff-related injuries, according to an exclusive report in the Haaretz newspaper.

In a letter to Israel’s attorney general and the defense and health ministers, obtained by Haaretz, the doctor said conditions at the Sde Teiman field hospital compromised the health of detainees and violated medical ethics .

“Just this week, two prisoners had their legs amputated due to handcuff-related injuries, which is unfortunately a common occurrence,” the doctor said in the letter, according to Thursday’s Haaretz newspaper. He wrote that inappropriate care in the detention center led to “complications and sometimes even the death of the patient,” adding that “this means that all of us – the medical teams and you, those who are in charge of us in the Ministries of Health and Defense, complicit in the violation of Israeli law.

Haaretz reported that the doctor said “inmates are fed with straws, defecate in diapers and are constantly restrained, which violates medical ethics and the law.” It is not clear when the doctor wrote the letter.

In a written statement to CNN in response to the allegations, an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson said: “The IDF operates according to the law and within the law when it comes to the treatment detainees. Each procedure is documented and supervised, and is carried out with extreme care for the human dignity of detainees, in accordance with the principles of Israeli and international law.

The IDF statement continued: “The handcuffing of detainees is carried out in accordance with procedures, their state of health and the level of danger they represent, in order to ensure the safety of forces and medical personnel.

“According to IDF instructions, violence against detainees is absolutely prohibited. “The IDF protects the rights of detainees in detention centers and regularly briefs law enforcement on the required conduct toward detainees, including the prohibition of the use of violence,” the IDF statement said.

“Any allegations of violence or humiliation for which concrete details are provided will be investigated and addressed individually,” the Israeli military said.

A spokesperson for the Israeli Health Ministry said he had nothing further to add.

CNN spoke with a source who has medical training and has previously visited the Sde Teiman field hospital. They confirmed seeing detainees constantly restrained.

The medical source, who spoke to CNN Thursday on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, said all of the Gaza detainees they saw at the field hospital had all four limbs chained, which according to the source, increases the risk of blood clotting and other health problems. concerns.

The source said the detainees were blindfolded and at least three patients they saw were wearing diapers.

The medical source highlighted the systematic “dehumanization” of detainees at the field hospital, which it described as a large “tent” “not insulated” from the elements.

“We were asked not to use our names,” the medical source told CNN, adding that Gazan prisoners were identified by serial numbers rather than their names.

The medical source told CNN that it appeared the facility’s nursing and medical staff were trying to provide inmates with appropriate care and “the treatment they deserve,” but were limited in what they could do. could do.

“Ethical failures” at Sde Teiman

The Sde Teiman field hospital and detention center, located on a military base in southern Israel near the city of Beersheba, was established by the Israeli military shortly after the October 7 Hamas attacks. .

The field hospital was established after Israeli civilian hospitals refused to admit detainees from Gaza or terrorism suspects, according to a report by the nonprofit Physicians for Human Rights in Israel .

The Physicians for Human Rights-Israel report on Sde Teiman, which documents the field hospital’s “ethical failures,” also notes that “field hospital security forces demand that all persons Detainees remain handcuffed and blindfolded at all times, including during medical treatment. .”

“Media reports indicate that Gazans detained at this military facility experience harsh conditions, being held with their hands behind their backs and sometimes tied to a fence for prolonged periods, spanning entire, consecutive days. These circumstances result in significant physical and psychological harm,” adds the report by Physicians for Human Rights in Israel.

According to the Haaretz report, the doctor said in his letter to the Israeli health and defense ministries that the field hospital “is run most of the day by a single doctor, accompanied by a team of nurses, some of whom only have medical training.” and in some cases, the doctor on call is an orthopedist or gynecologist. “This leads to complications and sometimes even death of the patient,” the doctor wrote, Haaretz reported.

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