Gaza Doctor Hussam Abu Safiya Detained by Israel Amid Alleged Torture, UN Demands Release

Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, has been held by Israeli authorities since December 2024 under the Unlawful Combatants Law, without charge or trial. His lawyer, Nasser Odeh, reports severe beatings, repeated solitary confinement, bruising on his face, neck and ears, loss of consciousness and a rapid decline in health. Former detainees who saw him in prison described him as emaciated and barely able to speak.

Multiple United Nations bodies—including the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and the UN Human Rights Council—have classified his detention as arbitrary and in violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. They have called for his immediate, unconditional release and for independent medical care. The Israeli Prison Service rejects the allegations of mistreatment.

Abu Safiya is one of at least 14 Palestinian doctors from Gaza detained for over a year. The Israeli Supreme Court has twice rejected appeals for his release. International actors, such as the UK Parliament and the American Human Rights Council, have echoed UN calls, urging diplomatic pressure and sanctions to secure his freedom and protect medical workers in the conflict.