More than a year and a half has passed since Hussam Abu Safiya’s family saw the Gaza doctor. The 52-year-old pediatrician and Kamal Adwan Hospital director has been held in Israeli custody since December 2024 without any charges, causing concern among human rights groups, colleagues, and relatives who fear for his life.
In June, Abu Safiya participated in a Supreme Court hearing in Jerusalem via video link, where he appeared visibly weaker and thinner in the face and abdomen. His sister, Samahir Abu Safiya, expressed shock at his deteriorating condition, stating that the family did not anticipate such a drastic change in his health.
Abu Safiya is one of 14 doctors from Gaza detained in Israel for over a year without trial, as reported by Physicians for Human Rights Israel. Various organizations, including the United Nations and Amnesty International, have called for his immediate release, along with other health-care workers held arbitrarily.
During a visit on July 2, his lawyer, Nasser Odeh, reported that Abu Safiya had been subjected to daily beatings at the underground detention facility Rakevet, beneath the Ayalon prison complex in central Israel. Odeh witnessed fresh bruises and signs of torture on Abu Safiya, who conveyed his fear of being killed.
The Israel Prison Service denied the allegations, stating they are baseless. Abu Safiya’s son, Elias, raised concerns about his father’s deteriorating health and the possibility of him dying in custody due to a head injury.
Abu Safiya was detained following an Israeli raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital during a siege in northern Gaza. Despite appeals for his release, the Supreme Court refused based on classified information under a law allowing indefinite detention of so-called unlawful combatants.
The Israel Defence Forces accused Abu Safiya of ties to Hamas without providing evidence, a claim denied by Gaza’s Health Ministry and Hamas. The IDF’s allegations against Abu Safiya were challenged by his family and associates.
Swiss-based MENA Rights Group highlighted Abu Safiya’s solitary confinement, interrogations, and physical abuse while under Israeli custody. The UN commission expressed concerns over reported abuses and called for his immediate release.
Despite international calls for his freedom, Abu Safiya remains detained, unlike other Palestinian detainees released in a previous exchange. Dr. Mohammed Abu Salmiya, another detained hospital chief, was released after seven months, claiming political motives and torture during his incarceration.
In September 2025, the UN accused Israeli authorities of targeting Gaza’s healthcare system, which Israel dismissed as scandalous. Despite a ceasefire, Israeli airstrikes in Gaza have led to numerous casualties, emphasizing the urgent need for global action to secure the release of detained health-care workers.