Medical Ethics at War: Is Israel Obligated to Treat Hamas Combatants?

Prisoners of war (POW) are generally due equal medical and humanitarian care under international humanitarian law. Whether this applies to the Hamas combatants involved in the recent attack on Israel and what exactly it may mean are the subject of this article. On October 7, 2023, Hamas combatants infiltrated the southern part of Israel and murdered and kidnapped unarmed civilians. The Israeli Minister of Health issued a letter forbidding public hospitals from treating the combatants, instead directing them to medical facilities run by the Israeli military or prison system. This means that some of the combatants may not receive care equal to that received by Israeli civilians and soldiers, or rather that they might receive care that is inappropriate. This article argues that combatants should be treated humanely and appropriately based on three arguments. The first relies on international humanitarian law and its foregrounding moral axioms. The second relies on the Golden Rule. The third relies on the Arendtian concept of a common world. Humane and appropriate treatment does not necessarily mean equal or equitable treatment; it rather means treatment of a standard that is similar to the standard in the detaining country.