Hamas detainees will now be treated in Israeli hospitals following a decision by the Health Ministry to shut down the Sde Teiman medical facility.
The closure comes after a decline in workload due to the transfer of detainees to other prisons and operational changes at the facility.
A Health Ministry spokesperson stated: “Recently, there has been a significant reduction in activity at the medical facility due to changes in the operations of the detention center and the transfer of detainees to other locations. As a result, the medical facility has had no patients for several days. The IDF and the ministry are making the necessary adjustments to the infrastructure to address current needs.”
The military hospital in Sde Teiman was established several years ago to provide real-time, life-saving medical care near the battlefield.
It was equipped with field operating rooms, medical imaging capabilities, and temporary intensive care units.
However, during the latest conflict, wounded soldiers were evacuated by helicopter or vehicle to Israeli hospitals, and Sde Teiman was repurposed to treat Hamas detainees.
Allegations of mistreatment
Allegations of mistreatment at the facility prompted Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara to call for its closure. Initially, the facility was intended to hold Gaza detainees temporarily before their transfer to prisons. However, due to overcrowding, some detainees remained at Sde Teiman for extended periods.
In response to a petition filed by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel with the High Court, which claimed mistreatment of detainees, the state announced a significant reduction in the number of detainees held at Sde Teiman.