Story highlights The military says prisoners will be force-fed in the early morning and late evening

The U.S. says the feedings provide essential nutrition and medical care

Four prisoners say the feedings violate the Ramadan fast

The U.S. also denies giving detainees Reglan

The U.S. government on Wednesday refused to stop force-feeding prisoners at the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, during Ramadan.

In court papers rejecting a petition by detainees, the United States said the feedings provide "essential nutrition and medical care" and do not interfere with the detainees' religious fasting during Ramadan, the holy month that begins on the evening of July 8.

The tube-feedings will take place in the early morning and late evening to help detainees comply with Ramadan restrictions, said Navy Capt. Robert Durand, spokesman for the detention facility.

Shaker Aamer, Ahmed Belbacha, Nabil Hadjarab and Abu Wa'el Dhiab filed a lawsuit Sunday arguing that the feedings violate the Ramadan daily fast from dawn to sunset.

U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler had set a deadline of noon Wednesday for the government to respond.

Photos: Inside Guantanamo Bay Photos: Inside Guantanamo Bay A DJ from Radio GTMO, the radio station at the US Navy base on Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, replaces photos of the Obama administration with photos of the Trump administration on Friday, January 27. President Barack Obama signed an executive order on January 22, 2009, to close the detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay within a year. Eight years later, the prison for terrorism suspects remains open, with 41 detainees as of January 2017. President Donald Trump stated during the 2016 campaign that he would keep the prison facility open. Hide Caption 1 of 23 Photos: Inside Guantanamo Bay The base at Guantanamo Bay has held terror suspects since January 2002. Early in the war on terror, the Bush administration argued these detainees were "enemy combatants" who didn't have the protections accorded to prisoners of war under the Geneva Conventions. Here, a detainee stands at an interior fence in October 2009. Hide Caption 2 of 23 Photos: Inside Guantanamo Bay A Navy sailor surveys the base in October 2009. In December 2013, Congress passed a defense-spending bill that makes it easier to transfer detainees out of the facility. Hide Caption 3 of 23 Photos: Inside Guantanamo Bay US military guards move a detainee inside the detention center in September 2010. At its peak, the detainee population exceeded 750 men. Hide Caption 4 of 23 Photos: Inside Guantanamo Bay A military doctor holds a feeding tube used to feed detainees on a hunger strike in June 2013. In March 2013, the US military announced that dozens of detainees had begun a hunger strike. By that June, more than 100 detainees were on a hunger strike, and more than 40 were being force-fed, military officials said. Hide Caption 5 of 23 Photos: Inside Guantanamo Bay Muslim detainees kneel during early morning prayers in October 2009. Cells are marked with an arrow pointing in the direction of Mecca, which is regarded as Islam's holy city. Hide Caption 6 of 23 Photos: Inside Guantanamo Bay A soldier stands near the fence line in January 2012. Hide Caption 7 of 23 Photos: Inside Guantanamo Bay A Quran sits among a display of items issued to detainees in September 2010. The suspects are given a prayer mat and a copy of the Muslim holy book as well as a toothbrush, soap, shampoo and clothing. Hide Caption 8 of 23 Photos: Inside Guantanamo Bay A guard walks out of the maximum-security section of the detention center in September 2010. Hide Caption 9 of 23 Photos: Inside Guantanamo Bay A police dog undergoes training exercises in October 2009. Hide Caption 10 of 23 Photos: Inside Guantanamo Bay A camp librarian views artwork painted by detainees in September 2010. Hide Caption 11 of 23 Photos: Inside Guantanamo Bay A detainee rubs his face while attending a "life skills" class in April 2009. Hide Caption 12 of 23 Photos: Inside Guantanamo Bay A seat and shackle await a detainee in the DVD room of a maximum-security detention center in March 2010. Hide Caption 13 of 23 Photos: Inside Guantanamo Bay US Marines join in martial-arts training in September 2010. Hide Caption 14 of 23 Photos: Inside Guantanamo Bay Members of the military walk the hallway of Cell Block C in the Camp 5 detention facility in January 2012. Hide Caption 15 of 23 Photos: Inside Guantanamo Bay Guards move a detainee from his cell in Cell Block A of the Camp 6 detention facility in January 2012. Hide Caption 16 of 23 Photos: Inside Guantanamo Bay A detainee waits for lunch in September 2010. The cost of building Guantanamo's high-security detention facilities was reportedly about $54 million. Hide Caption 17 of 23 Photos: Inside Guantanamo Bay Marines get an early morning workout in October 2009. Hide Caption 18 of 23 Photos: Inside Guantanamo Bay A bus carries military guards from their night shift in September 2010. Hide Caption 19 of 23 Photos: Inside Guantanamo Bay A military guard puts on gloves before moving a detainee in September 2010. Hide Caption 20 of 23 Photos: Inside Guantanamo Bay Members of the military move down the hallway of Cell Block C in the Camp 5 detention facility in January 2012. Hide Caption 21 of 23 Photos: Inside Guantanamo Bay A guard holds shackles before preparing to move a detainee in September 2010. Hide Caption 22 of 23 Photos: Inside Guantanamo Bay An American flag flies over Camp 6 at Guantanamo in June 2013. Hide Caption 23 of 23

Lt. Col Todd Breasseale, a Pentagon spokesman, said the military has changed force-feeding times at Guantanamo during Ramadan for years, but doing so "is an accommodation, not a right."

Of the 166 prisoners at Guantanamo, 106 are on hunger strike, Breasseale said.

In its court filing, the U.S. Justice Department also denied claims that it was giving the drug Reglan to the detainees.