Rights group warns detained Gaza hospital director's life is in immediate danger
Physicians for Human Rights Israel says Dr. Hussam Abu Safia, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, is in life-threatening condition in Israeli detention . A lawyer who visited him on July 2 after his transfer to the Rakefet section of Nitzan prison documented severe injuries, difficulty breathing and repeated loss of consciousness, and the group demanded his release and medical care.
Abu Safia was arrested at his hospital on December 27, 2024, during an intensified Israeli campaign against Gaza’s health system, and has been held for more than 555 days without charge under Israel’s “unlawful combatant” designation, which permits prolonged detention without trial. He is one of 14 Palestinian doctors from Gaza held under that classification. His prominence — he stayed at his post through repeated strikes on the hospital, and lost his son in a drone strike at its entrance shortly before his arrest — has made his case a focus for medical and rights organizations tracking the detention of Gaza’s health workers.