“Israel doesn’t just broadcast to the world ‘we have doctors that are held without any sort of charges for the past two years’; they’re not going to give that to the public on a silver platter. People need to inquire.”

Join PHRI’s Maha Loulou and Lee Caspi for a discussion about our campaign demanding the release of 14 doctors from Gaza who have been held by Israel, without charge and subject to grave torture and rights violations, for periods ranging from 1.5 to 2.5 years. We share some of their individual stories and what is happening behind bars, away from the public eye, to a group of highly skilled medical professionals who are desperately needed back home.

*For more background, listen to our previous episode on the systemic torture of medical personnel from Gaza in Israeli custody: https://rss.com/podcasts/diagnosingthebarriers/2187997

Or read PHRI’s report on the subject: https://www.phr.org.il/en/torture-of-medical-workers/

**This episode was recorded on June 1st, a mere two days before PHRI received a firsthand report from Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya's lawyer about his grave condition and the imminent threat to his life. While we work around the clock to try to save Dr. Abu Safiya and bring greater visibility to his case, we are continuing our efforts to release all 14 Gaza doctors still held in Israeli detention.

With no access to a functioning medical system, at least 18,500 patients from Gaza wait for medical evacuation by the World Health Organization. But, where to? While Israel argues the answer is third countries, Physicians for Human Rights Israel is pushing for evacuation to the Palestinian hospitals in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. This episode discusses the current healthcare situation in Gaza and the urgent need to reopen the medical evacuation corridor to the West Bank. Join PHRI’s Keren Shavit and Lee Caspi for a sobering discussion about the urgency of the situation – every delay risks thousands of lives and generates untold human suffering.

* In this episode, the term “antibiotic resistance” is used to refer to antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which encompasses resistance to antibiotics and other antimicrobial treatments.

** For background on the destruction of Gaza’s healthcare system and the cascading effect described in the episode, see PHRI’s report “Destruction of Conditions of Life: A Health Analysis of the Gaza Genocide” - https://www.phr.org.il/en/genocide-in-gaza-eng/?pr=20812

Medical systems are meant to protect life.

They rely on visibility: documentation, communication, accountability.

But what happens when those same systems fail to interrupt harm?

In this episode, we dive into two recent publications by Physicians for Human Rights Israel — one documenting deaths and disappearances in detention, and the other exposing the erosion of medical ethics inside hospitals.

Together, they raise a difficult question:

When harm is both produced and obscured — who is left to witness?

This episode brings together two independently researched reports — one by Physicians for Human Rights–Israel and one by Physicians for Human Rights — combining women’s testimonies and clinicians’ accounts to examine how attacks on health infrastructure, food deprivation, and restricted medical access in Gaza have reshaped pregnancy, childbirth, and newborn survival.

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Shani Bar Tuvia about a new report based on dozens of interviews, shedding light on the silencing — both formal and informal — of Palestinian doctors, nurses, and healthcare professionals in Israel's medical institutions.

We examine what happens when coexistence depends on erasure, and what this reality means for medicine, ethics, and identity within Israel’s healthcare system.

In this episode of Diagnosing the Barriers, we look at how civic space in Israel is rapidly shrinking—and what that means for human rights organizations and activists in Israel and Palestine, to try and operate under increasing political pressure.

In this episode, we sit down with Tirza Leibowitz, Deputy Director of Physicians for Human Rights–Israel, to talk about PHRI’s groundbreaking report “Genocide in Gaza.”

The paper made global headlines as—for the first time—Israeli human rights organizations openly accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. In this episode we examine how the report traces genocide through the systematic destruction of the basic conditions needed to survive: healthcare, food, water, and shelter.

Trigger warning: We discuss difficult issues, including attacks on hospitals, starvation, and the targeting of medical workers.

In this episode, we dissect the new PHRI report “Unlawfully detained, tortured and staved: the plight of Gaza's medical workers in Israeli custody", with a powerful conversation with Maha Loulou, one of the report's authors. The report exposes the devastating realities faced by those on the frontlines of care who have been arrested, interrogated, or silenced for doing their work.

Trigger Warning: This episode includes discussion of difficult and painful issues, including imprisonment, torture, and the targeting of medical workers. Please listen with care.