In brief
Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, a prominent Gaza hospital director, has been detained by Israeli authorities for months without charge. During a recent visit to the Rakefet interrogation centre, his lawyer reports the doctor was badly beaten, bruised, and left near fainting, with no medical treatment provided. The Israel Prison Service denies the claims, but Israel’s Supreme Court has ordered a response to a petition demanding release of 14 detained Palestinian doctors. International bodies, including the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, have called the detention arbitrary and urged immediate release and care. Human rights groups demand court oversight and urgent medical treatment for the detainee.
Lawyer alleges violent abuse of detained Gaza doctor
Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, director of a Gaza hospital, has been held by Israeli authorities without charge for over 18 months. His lawyer, Nasser Odeh, says that during a recent visit at the Rakefet interrogation centre, the doctor was "crushed"—his face aching, bruises scattered, and he could hardly remain conscious.
Odeh reports that the detainee complained he had been hit with batons, hands and even a hammer, and that he received no medical treatment. The Israel Prison Service denies the accusations, calling them "false and without factual basis."
Israel’s Supreme Court has ordered a response to a petition that seeks the release of Abu Safiya and 13 other Palestinian doctors detained without charge. A United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention also calls the detention "arbitrary."
The doctor had been taken after Israeli forces demolished the hospital and accused him of being a Hamas "terrorist stronghold." International medical groups stand by him, denying any cooperation with militant organisations.
The case has drawn criticism from groups such as Amnesty International and Physicians for Human Rights Israel, who demand immediate medical care and judicial oversight.
