Dozens of Hamas terrorists from the Gaza Strip have arrived since the beginning of the fighting for treatment at a field hospital that was established at the Sde Teyman military facility and airfield ten km north of Beersheva, according to Israeli media reports. Reshet Bet Radio reported on Thursday that 13 terrorists have been sent for surgeries or other treatments in Israel’s general hospitals.
According to the provisions of international humanitarian law, Israel is obligated to treat injured terrorists. The field hospital is staffed by one senior doctor and a team of medical professionals who were brought in as part of their reserve duty and are not part of the IDF medical corps.
It should be noted that terrorists with blood on their hands have been refused treatment in Israel’s general hospitals by the staff there who feel uncomfortable treating them. There is also concern about Hamas patients causing violent provocations, as well as Israeli avengers looking to harm them.
The health ministry issued precise instructions to maintain the anonymity of the caregivers out of fear for their safety. The medical staff was instructed not to identify themselves to the terrorists by name, only by their profession and field of expertise. Staff members do not provide any personal details, nor sign their names in the medical records in any way that could cause them to be identified.
According to Haaretz, the field hospital is adjacent to fenced compounds where Hamas detainees are being kept with their eyes covered and hands cuffed throughout most of the day, and the light stays on all night long in their compounds. They are routinely transferred for interrogations. A few Hamas inmates have died since the start of the war.
The Hamas detainees sleep on thin mattresses on the floor in three lockup compounds. Each compound can hold as many as 200 detainees, and a fourth compound is being constructed. The army appoints a detainee liaison for each of the compounds, and he is responsible for communication between the soldiers, the guards, and the detainees. The liaison detainee is also responsible for distributing the food. The field hospital treats detainees who need urgent medical care.
When a detainee is brought to the field hospital for treatment, the staff must assess whether to keep their eyes covered and their hands cuffed.
Shortly after the start of the war, several emergency regulations were established that tightened the conditions regarding the treatment of detainees under the 2002 Illegal Combatants Act, and allowed to hold them for longer periods without judicial review.
According to the current version of the law, arrest warrants must be issued for detainees within 30 days and they must be brought before a judge within 45 days of their arrest. Under the law, terrorist detainees have the right to see a lawyer after 28 days from the day of their arrest, but a judge can approve denying them legal advice for 80 days, and hold the judicial review of their cases without a lawyer.
