Gaza Hospital Director Jailed in Israel in Life-threatening Danger, Lawyer Says
Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of a major Gaza hospital who has been imprisoned by Israel since 2024, is in immediate life-threatening danger, Physicians for Human Rights said Saturday, after his lawyer reported a severe deterioration in his condition following a visit at the "Rakefet" detention facility at Israel's Nitzan Prison.
Attorney Nasser Odeh visited Abu Safiya, who led the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, on Thursday and found him shackled, escorted by masked prison guards and bearing fresh bruises to his head, face, ears and neck, according to a statement issued by Physicians for Human Rights.
According to the lawyer's affidavit, Abu Safiya struggled to breathe and speak, appeared extremely weak and seemed close to losing consciousness several times during the visit. Odeh said he believed his client was in immediate danger.
According to the affidavit, Abu Safiya said prison guards beat him with a hammer and batons after a June 10 hearing before Israel's Supreme Court on his appeal against the extension of his detention.
The court rejected his appeal, which Physicians for Human Rights said demonstrated "how judicial review proceedings for Palestinian detainees from Gaza have, in practice, become little more than a procedural formality."
Odeh also said Abu Safiya has been beaten daily since being transferred to the Rakefet facility on June 24, has lost consciousness several times and has not received adequate medical treatment. According to the affidavit, Abu Safiya told his lawyer that the Thursday visit would be their last meeting, because he feared Israeli authorities would kill him while in custody.
Following the visit, Odeh said he asked the Israel Prison Service to transfer Abu Safiya to another detention facility and provide urgent medical care. Physicians for Human Rights said it also appealed to Israeli authorities to allow an independent medical examination and an immediate visit by an official outside the prison service.
Responding to a request for comment, the prison service said it operates in accordance with the law and examines all complaints under established procedures.
Abu Safiya was held in solitary confinement following his Supreme Court appeal in June. Along with 13 other doctors Israel has imprisoned, he has been held without charge. He is expected to remain in custody for at least another four months.
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Israel's Unlawful Combatants Law allows the state to detain foreign nationals alleged to belong to terrorist organizations or to have participated directly or indirectly in hostile actions.
Like all Gaza detainees, Abu Safiya is classified as an illegal combatant, and his detention is extended every six months. The law determines that both the hearing and the ruling are subject to a gag order.
Abu Safiya is one of the most prominent Palestinian detainees from Gaza. He became a symbol of resistance before his detention after his son was killed and he was wounded. Several of his colleagues were also killed. Large parts of the hospital were damaged or destroyed, and he continued operating from the facility during the fighting.
The Hind Rajab Foundation cited Abu Safiya's detention in a 2025 call for British authorities to investigate and arrest Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar during an official visit.