Palestinian Territory – The abduction of nurse Tasneem Marwan al-Hams, 23, from outside a medical point where she worked in the Al-Mawasi area of the southern Gaza Strip is deeply alarming.
The incident took place about 70 days after her father, Marwan al-Hams, Director of Field Hospitals at the Ministry of Health, was also abducted in a similar manner. This reflects a troubling pattern of kidnappings and enforced disappearances carried out by Israeli forces against Palestinian civilians, including health workers, in the Gaza Strip.
Euro-Med Monitor's field team documented the circumstances of the abduction on the morning of Thursday, 2 October. A small truck carrying four armed men and a driver in civilian clothing arrived near the medical point in the Al-Ard Al-Tayyiba area, west of Khan Yunis Governorate. The assailants blocked the nurse's path as she headed to work, then several of them exited the vehicle, assaulted her, gagged her, and forcibly dragged her into the truck. The gunmen fired into the air to disperse citizens who attempted to intervene before fleeing towards northern Rafah Governorate, an area under Israeli army control.
Tasneem's father, Dr Marwan Shafiq al-Hams, was abducted on 21 July by armed men in civilian clothing in the Al-Mawasi area of Rafah. They shot him in the leg, killed photojournalist Tamer al-Za'anin, and wounded two others, a journalist and a Ministry of Health employee. Subsequent information revealed that Dr Al-Hams was being held in an Israeli interrogation centre.
In a testimony to Euro-Med Monitor, M.S., an eyewitness to the abduction, said: "I saw a small truck carrying the belongings of displaced people, driven by a man accompanied by four others. The truck stopped, and they asked about the location of the medical point in Al-Ard Al-Tayyiba. It remained there for about 20 minutes. When the nurse, Tasneem al-Hams, approached, the truck moved to block her path. Four armed men then got out, covered her mouth with a piece of cloth, and forcibly pushed her into the truck, which quickly left the area amid gunfire to disperse citizens who tried to stop it."
In another testimony, Tasneem's brother, Mohammed al-Hams, said: "Tasneem was working at the Kuwait Specialised Hospital, Abu Yousef al-Najjar Hospital, a MedGlobal medical point, and a Ministry of Health medical point in Al-Mawasi. She had been receiving blackmail messages from anonymous foreign and Palestinian numbers."
He added, "On my way to Nasser Medical Complex, I received a message from a woman in the area saying that a special Israeli force had kidnapped my sister Tasneem. I rushed to the scene and heard from people what had happened. Until now, we know nothing about her. I contacted several human rights organisations, but they said it was a holiday period in Israel and they could not obtain any information."
Tasneem's mother said, "My daughter Tasneem committed no crime that would justify her abduction by a special forces unit on her way to work. We still do not know her health condition or fate. We have contacted the relevant international bodies but have not received any information so far."
Available field data strongly indicate the involvement of Israeli forces or their affiliated militias in the abduction of nurse Tasneem al-Hams, based on multiple pieces of corroborating evidence. Most notably, the vehicle used in the operation withdrew towards northern Rafah, an area entirely under the effective control of the Israeli army.
The method used aligns with a documented pattern of previous abductions carried out by Israeli forces or their affiliated militias, who often employ civilian vehicles and individuals in civilian clothing. Furthermore, the victim's father was abducted in the same manner and was later found to be held in an Israeli interrogation centre.
This crime is a clear continuation of Israel's policy of kidnapping and enforced disappearance targeting civilians in the Gaza Strip, carried out either by special army units or by armed militias operating under its command or in direct coordination with it. Such acts constitute a grave violation of international humanitarian law and the four Geneva Conventions, particularly the provisions guaranteeing the protection of civilians and health workers during armed conflicts.
The kidnappers' retreat to an area under full Israeli control confirms Israel's responsibility for the incident, both as the direct perpetrator and as the authority exercising de facto control. This entails immediate legal obligations on Israel to guarantee the safety of nurse Tasneem al-Hams, disclose her fate and whereabouts, allow her to communicate with her family and lawyer, and ensure her immediate and unconditional release.
Euro-Med Monitor warned of the grave danger facing nurse Tasneem al-Hams and her father, Dr Marwan al-Hams, due to the concealment of their whereabouts and the prohibition of any contact with the outside world. The organisation believes they are likely being subjected to physical and psychological torture and blackmail to extract information or coerced confessions. These concerns are reinforced by the repeated patterns of secret detention and serious violations committed by Israeli forces against Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip.
The UN Committee on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances must urgently act to hold the Israeli authorities accountable for the safety and well-being of nurse Tasneem al-Hams and her father, Dr Marwan al-Hams, and to ensure their immediate release. The international community's continued silence regarding these practices perpetuates a policy of impunity and encourages their repetition.
The UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls must urgently investigate the abduction of nurse Tasneem al-Hams, as it constitutes a compounded violation involving both gender-based violence and enforced disappearance. The Special Rapporteur must also activate all available UN mechanisms to compel Israel to disclose the nurse's fate and ensure her immediate release.
Furthermore, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) must urgently engage with the Israeli authorities to ascertain the fate of the abducted Palestinians, ensure their treatment in full compliance with international humanitarian law, and secure unrestricted access to their places of detention.
Euro-Med Monitor calls on the international community to pressure the Israeli authorities to publish updated lists of all detainees and forcibly disappeared persons from the Gaza Strip, including their places of detention, case numbers, and the authorities conducting their investigations. These lists must be updated regularly to ensure that families and legal representatives have access to essential information about their fate, in line with international law and the principles of transparency and accountability.
The states parties to the Geneva Conventions must uphold their legal obligations to ensure respect for the conventions by taking concrete measures to end the crimes of kidnapping and enforced disappearance, including suspending all military and security cooperation with Israel until it complies with its international obligations. The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court must also open an urgent investigation into these crimes and ensure that those responsible are held accountable and prosecuted.
Euro-Med Monitor urges countries whose national laws permit universal jurisdiction to open criminal investigations into the crimes of enforced disappearance, torture, and ill-treatment committed in the Gaza Strip, as these crimes have no statute of limitations and constitute serious violations of the Geneva Conventions. Pursuing such cases at the national level is a crucial step towards ending impunity and achieving justice for the victims.
