A recent photo of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip, has drawn international concern over his treatment during detention in Israel. The image, taken during a video appearance at an Israeli Supreme Court hearing last week, shows Abu Safiya looking emaciated with visible bruises or possible skin infections on his arms. Abu Safiya has been held in Israeli custody since December 2024.
Abu Safiya and 13 other Palestinian doctors from Gaza remain detained under the classification of "illegal combatants," a status that allows for detention without formal charges or evidence disclosure. Israel has neither indicted Abu Safiya nor submitted any evidence against him. His detention has been routinely extended every six months by a judge at the Be’er Sheva District Court, based on administrative decisions.
Following a petition Abu Safiya filed challenging his detention, reports indicate he was transferred from his cell in Ketziot Prison to solitary confinement at Nafha Prison. According to fellow detainees, this move appears to be retaliatory, linked to his legal challenge.
Human rights advocates and legal representatives have criticized the conditions faced by detainees in Israeli prisons, noting an escalation in alleged abuses since National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir took office and following Hamas’ attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. Some detainees reportedly discourage lawyers from filing petitions or attending court hearings due to violent treatment by prison guards during transfers to courtrooms or video hearing facilities.
Abu Safiya gained prominence prior to his arrest for his leadership of the largest hospital in northern Gaza amid continuing conflict. Despite personal tragedy—including the loss of his son to Israeli military action and injuries he sustained himself—he continued to provide medical care after parts of the hospital were destroyed by bombings that also killed colleagues. His detention, along with that of other Gaza-based doctors, has been described by advocates as a form of collective punishment affecting Gaza’s civilian population, which critically depends on their medical services.
The ongoing situation has sparked calls for international action. On Saturday, the medical journal The Lancet reported on a petition endorsed by numerous organizations and medical professionals advocating for a boycott of the Israel Medical Association. The petition criticizes the association for failing to uphold medical ethics amid the deterioration of Gaza’s health infrastructure and highlights the participation of some Israeli medical practitioners in the prison system.
Human rights groups assert that if Israel possesses evidence against Abu Safiya, it should formally indict him and present that information as part of due legal process. Absent such evidence, they call for his immediate release alongside the other detained medical professionals from Gaza.