In brief
The lawyer for Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya—director of a Gaza hospital—has warned of severe violence and possible life‑threatening conditions in an Israeli jail. He says his client suffered humiliating beatings and denied medical care, and the Israel Prison Service rejects these claims. International bodies, including the UN’s Arbitrary Detention Working Group, have labelled Abu Safiya’s detention arbitrary and urged prompt release. The case highlights broader concerns over treatment of Palestinian detainees in Israel.
Lawyer Nasser Odeh warns that detaining Palestinian medic Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya for over 18 months has left him in a critical state.
According to Odeh, a visit to the notorious Rakefet interrogation site revealed that Abu Safiya had been violently assaulted by multiple guards—using hands, batons and hammers—after an appeal at the Supreme Court last month. The lawyer described the doctor as nearly losing consciousness several times, bruises covering his face, neck and ears, and a state of severe physical and psychological distress.
The Israel Prison Service dismissed the allegations as baseless, claiming that all detainees receive care according to the Ministry of Health guidelines. No independent verification of Abu Safiya’s treatment has yet been published.
The case has attracted condemnation from human‑rights organisations. The UN working group on arbitrary detention deemed his detention “arbitrary” and called for immediate release, while the Israeli‐based Physicians for Human Rights Israel listed him among dozens of prisoners who reportedly died in custody over the past two years.
Abu Safiya, who once directed the Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gaza, was captured during a military raid in December 2024 that targeted medical staff and equipment. The Israeli Defence Forces described him as a potential Hamas collaborator, while various aid groups maintain that he had not cooperated with the militant group.
The Israeli Supreme Court has ordered the government to reply by Tuesday on a petition demanding the release of Abu Safiya and 13 other Palestinian doctors seized without charge.
