A demonstrator holds a placard that reads "Free Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya", in support of Palestinians during a protest in relation to the ceasefire in Gaza, in Dublin, Ireland, February 21, 2026. (Photo: Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters) Human rights organisations, politicians and family members have sounded the alarm over the deteriorating health of a Gazan hospital director who has been tortured, starved and beaten in Israeli detention and could be on the brink of death.
“On 27 December 2024, the Israeli military raided Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya in Gaza and arbitrarily detained its director, Dr Hussam Abu Safiya. Since then, he has been held without charges or trial, under orders that have been indefinitely renewed based on the Unlawful Combatants Law,” said Amnesty International.
“Since 3 June, Dr Abu Safiya has been held in solitary confinement while continuing to be denied access to adequate healthcare. Israeli authorities must immediately release him. Pending his release, they must ensure his protection from torture and other ill-treatment and provide him with adequate healthcare.”
Amnesty South Africa has also called for his immediate release. Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI) said they too were very concerned. “Recent reports raise grave concerns about Dr Abu Safiya and the other healthcare professionals from Gaza held in Israeli detention facilities. PHRI demands his immediate removal from the Rakefet underground security facility and an urgent assessment of his condition by an independent actor, before it is too late.”
Advocate Nasser Odeh visited Abu Safiya at the underground detention facility at Nitzan Prison in Ramla in central Israel.
“Safiya was shackled, handcuffed and showing signs of severe injuries around his neck, eyes and head … He appeared severely weak and struggled to sit up in a manner that raised concerns of him losing consciousness. I believe they are trying to kill him slowly and deliberately,” said Odeh.
“We haven’t heard anything for the last few days so nobody knows what his current condition is. He’s in complete isolation. His lawyer visited him and said that he could hardly speak and this could be the last time they see him,” Ofer Cassif, an Israeli Knesset member, said in a phone interview.
“There was a recent appeal to the Israeli Supreme Court and the judge ordered the state to confirm Dr Safiya’s condition. But we’re still waiting to hear.”
Cassif is an outspoken Jewish-Israeli who represents the Arab-majority Hadash-Ta’al party. He has been repeatedly censured by the Knesset.
Israeli military and government officials have accused Abu Safiya of “suspected involvement in ‘terrorist’ activities, and for holding a rank in the Hamas ‘terror organisation’”. They allege that Hamas was using Kamal Adwan Hospital to conceal personnel and carry out actions against Israel.
/file/attachments/2994/GettyImages-2239990901_155278.jpg "A protester holds a sign saying \"Free Dr Abu Safiya\" as protesters from Youth Demand occupy the main concourse at Waterloo railway station during the protest on October 11, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Martin Pope/Getty Images)")
However, these accusations are denied by Abu Safiya’s family, friends and human rights organisations.
Israel made similar accusations in the past about many of Gaza’s hospitals and medical facilities, most of which have been destroyed, without backing any of this up with solid evidence.
Abu Safiya is being held in administrative detention, or detention without trial. More than 9,000 Palestinian prisoners are being held in detention, with over 3,000 political prisoners held in administrative detention, including women and children.
“Dr Abu Safiya is one of those held in administrative detention, which is a way of sugar-coating the kidnapping and detention of Palestinians without trial or court appearances as Israel turns reality upside down,” Cassif told Daily Maverick.
Administrative detainees are detained without legal proceedings, by order of the regional military commander, based on classified evidence that is not revealed to them, says Israeli rights group B’Tselem. “This leaves the detainees helpless – facing unknown allegations with no way to disprove them, not knowing when they will be released, and without being charged, tried or convicted,” it says.
Israel’s administrative detention orders are renewable after six months and can be extended for years. Lawyers for the detainees are denied access to information about why their clients are being held, with authorities citing security reasons.
On 16 June, Israel’s Supreme Court upheld the latest detention order against Abu Safiya, which would keep him detained until at least October. It was after this ruling that he was allegedly beaten with a hammer and batons by masked prison guards, according to his lawyer.
In April, UN experts called for Abu Safiya’s immediate release. “Israel must immediately release Dr Abu Safiya and ensure he is granted access to medical examination and treatment,” they said. “We have received reports that he has been subjected to torture and other cruel and degrading treatment, and that his health condition remains dire.
“The conditions of his detention appear to be flagrantly arbitrary and manifestly inconsistent with the Mandela Rules, which establish the obligation of states to ensure prisoners have access to healthcare.”
Medical personnel at risk
Abu Safiya’s detention and ill-treatment have led to global outrage and put the spotlight on Israel’s targeting of Palestinian medical personnel.
Dr Adnan Al-Bursh, head of orthopedics at Al-Shifa Hospital, died in April 2024 at Ofer prison after four months of captivity. Former detainees and UN experts reported he was subjected to severe torture and abuse. Dr Ziad Eldalou, an internal medicine physician at Al-Shifa Hospital, died in Israeli custody in March 2024.
Furthermore, reports from prisoner advocacy groups and the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics indicate that at least three to five Gazan doctors and multiple other healthcare workers have died while in Israeli prisons since the conflict began.
Eid Dweekat from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society in Ramallah was very concerned about Abu Safiya’s wellbeing.
“Palestinian paramedics have been repeatedly targeted by Israeli settlers and soldiers in the West Bank as well. They have been beaten up, shot at, wounded and killed. Ambulances carrying patients have also been attacked,” Dweekat told Daily Maverick.
Cassif said the urgency of Abu Safiya’s situation necessitated immediate action.
“I have sent urgent letters to the Israeli minister of defence, Israel Katz, and to the chief medical officer of the Israeli Prison Service, Dr Liat Goldstein, asking questions about his condition, but have not heard from either of them yet.”
Goldstein had not answered a request for comment by the time of publication.
The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel said in a statement on 8 July that Abu Safiya had been subjected to continuous mistreatment that likely amounted to international crimes.
“The military operations against medical personnel were found to be part of a concerted policy to destroy the healthcare system of Gaza,” it added. DM
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