Urgent Action: FREE FORCIBLY DISAPPEARED PALESTINIAN SURGEON (IOPT 53.24)

On March 24, 2024, Palestinian Khaled Al Serr was detained by the Israeli military from Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. Since then, he has been held in conditions that amount to enforced disappearance. More than two months on, Israeli authorities continue to conceal his fate and whereabouts; the scraps of information that his family have been able to receive only came from his colleagues and from released detainees. Israeli authorities must immediately release Dr. Khaled Al Serr. They must immediately disclose the whereabouts and legal status of all Palestinian health workers from Gaza who have been forcibly disappeared and release them unless they are charged with an internationally recognizable criminal offense and prosecuted in proceedings that respect international fair trial standards. Pending Dr. Khaled Al Serr’s release, authorities must disclose to Dr. Khaled Al Serr’s family his fate and whereabouts and grounds of detention and ensure his access to a lawyer, medical care, and family members.

PLEASE TAKE ACTION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE UNTIL: August 2, 2024

take Action:

• Write a letter in your own words or using the sample below as a guide to one or both government officials listed. You can also email, fax, call or Tweet them.
• Click here to let us know the actions you took on Urgent Action 53.24. It’s important to report because we share the total number with the officials we are trying to persuade and the people we are trying to help.

contact information:

sample letter:

Dear Brig. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi / Your Excellency,

 

I urge you to order the immediate release of Palestinian surgeon, Dr. Khaled Al Serr, from the occupied Gaza Strip, who has been held by Israeli authorities in conditions that amount to enforced disappearance since March 24, 2024.

A released detainee, who was held along with Dr. Khaled Al Serr, reported to the media that he witnessed the torture of Dr. Khaled Al Serr, which included plucking his beard with pliers. Testimonies collected by Amnesty International and other independent human rights organizations from Palestinian health workers detained and recently released indicate that Israeli authorities are routinely subjecting detained health workers to torture and other ill-treatment. 

A dedicated and talented young surgeon, Dr. Khaled Al Serr was one of the health workers who decided to remain at Nasser hospital to tend to the patients even while it was being encircled by the Israeli military.

I urge you to secure the release of Dr. Khaled Al Serr and to disclose the fate, whereabouts and legal status of all other Palestinian health workers who have been forcibly disappeared in Israeli custody.

Yours sincerely,

[YOUR NAME]

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