Gaza Herald – In a blatant act of retaliation, the Israeli authorities have transferred Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya, the prominent director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, to solitary confinement in the notorious Nafha desert prison.
According to his defense team, the punitive relocation from the Negev detention camp comes as a direct response to a legal appeal filed against his unlawful, prolonged detention. The renowned Palestinian physician is currently being held under brutal conditions, facing deliberate medical neglect and a total ban on communication with his family and legal council.
Advocate Nasser Oudeh, Dr. Abu Safiya’s defense lawyer, confirmed that the transfer to solitary confinement is an attempt by Israeli intelligence (Shin Bet) and prison authorities to break the doctor’s resolve. Before his transfer, Dr. Abu Safiya was subjected to a barrage of threats and intense psychological pressure aimed at preventing him from exposing the horrific reality and systemic torture endured by Palestinian detainees inside Israeli dungeons.
The defense team has been repeatedly barred from visiting the doctor without any legal justification.
This complete isolation is designed to sever all ties between the captive physician and the outside world, raising grave concerns over his deteriorating physical and psychological health.
Dr. Abu Safiya has been held in captivity for nearly a year and a half under Israel’s draconian “Unlawful Combatants Law”, a legal loophole used by the occupation to hold Palestinians indefinitely without charge or trial. He was abducted by occupation forces on December 27, 2024, during a brutal military storm on Kamal Adwan Hospital, where he refused to abandon his patients despite heavy bombardment. Since his abduction, his detention has been repeatedly extended without a single shred of evidence, with the latest extension occurring in October 2025 for an additional six months.
In February 2025, a leaked Israeli video showed the world-renowned pediatrician handcuffed and visually emaciated, sparking international outrage and condemnation from human rights organizations worldwide.
The defense team has filed an urgent appeal before the Israeli Supreme Court demanding Dr. Abu Safiya’s immediate release, arguing that his abduction directly violates international law and the Geneva Conventions, which grant special protection to medical personnel during wartime. The punitive transfer to Nafha prison was carried out just days before the scheduled court hearing.
Dr. Abu Safiya’s plight is part of a broader, systematic Israeli campaign to dismantle the healthcare system in the Gaza Strip. He is one of 14 high-profile hospital directors abducted from inside medical facilities during the ongoing genocide. Palestinian human rights data reveals that the Israeli occupation has kidnapped at least 737 medical workers, including doctors, paramedics, and nurses, since October 2023, while hundreds of others have been targeted and killed in the line of duty.
