Gaza Herald – A prominent Palestinian pediatrician, Hussam Abu Safiya, has been held in Israeli detention for over a year without charge or trial, amid reports of severe mistreatment and a growing smear campaign aimed at undermining Palestinian health workers.
Abu Safiya’s lawyer reports that the doctor’s health has dramatically deteriorated. He has lost around 40 kilograms after months of physical and psychological abuse, prolonged isolation, and extreme cold inside his prison cell. His lawyer said Abu Safiya’s heart is exhausted, and his overall condition is critical.
Abu Safiya, a pediatrician and neonatologist, gained recognition in Gaza for saving hundreds of children during Israel’s military assaults. He was the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza when Israeli forces stormed the facility in December 2024, forcing its evacuation and arresting medical staff.
On 23 December 2024, he told NBC News that Israeli sniper fire and tank shells had severely damaged the hospital’s nursery and maternity ward. Four days later, he surrendered to Israeli forces and was arrested as an “unlawful combatant,” a designation used by Israeli authorities despite the absence of formal charges.
Rights groups say his arrest was linked to his refusal to abandon the hospital under siege. Although medical facilities are protected under international humanitarian law, Israeli forces described Kamal Adwan Hospital as a “Hamas terrorist stronghold,” a claim without publicly verifiable evidence.
Abu Safiya remains in solitary confinement at Ofer Prison, a military detention center in the occupied West Bank. There has been no trial, indictment, or clear legal process for his detention.
Images of Abu Safiya walking in his white medical coat over the ruins of the hospital toward an Israeli tank have become a symbol of medical resistance in Gaza. Northern Gaza City saw 350 patients, doctors, and paramedics forced to leave the hospital, which was ultimately destroyed.
Abu Safiya, 51, took over leadership of the hospital after the previous director and much of the staff were arrested. During his tenure, he expanded bed capacity for emergencies and moved his family into the hospital to protect them while working around the clock.
Human rights organizations are calling for his immediate release, warning that his prolonged detention without charge violates international law and endangers healthcare workers in conflict zones.
