Amnesty International Calls for Immediate Release of Detained Gaza Doctor Hussam Abu Safiya
“This is not an isolated case,” said Amnesty’s Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territory team.
GAZA – Amnesty International has called on Israeli authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, a leading pediatrician and the Director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in North Gaza, who has been held in arbitrary detention since December 27, 2024.
Dr. Abu Safiya, 51, was arrested by Israeli forces following a deadly raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital, where he had continued to treat patients despite the collapse of Gaza’s healthcare infrastructure amid ongoing hostilities. A respected figure in Gaza’s medical community, Dr. Abu Safiya had become one of the few reliable sources of information on the dire healthcare situation in the besieged northern region of the Strip.
Despite personal tragedy—including the death of his son in an Israeli airstrike—Dr. Abu Safiya continued to provide essential medical care, particularly to children, under extremely dangerous and resource-deprived conditions.
Amnesty International strongly condemned his arrest, labeling it part of a broader pattern of arbitrary detentions targeting Palestinian health workers. The organization reports that Dr. Abu Safiya has been held without charge or trial in Ofer military prison, where detainees have allegedly been subjected to beatings, food deprivation, lack of medical care, and unhygienic conditions.
A lawyer who visited Ofer in early July noted that Dr. Abu Safiya had suffered visible weight loss and appeared physically weakened. Amnesty says this treatment highlights the inhumane conditions faced by Palestinian detainees, especially those from Gaza.
“This is not an isolated case,” said Amnesty’s Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territory team. “The targeting of medical professionals and destruction of Gaza’s health infrastructure are part of a deliberate strategy to dismantle life-saving services and punish the civilian population.”
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Amnesty is urging the international community to pressure Israel to release Dr. Abu Safiya and all other arbitrarily detained Palestinian health workers.
“Act now,” their statement concludes. “Demand justice for Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya and an end to the persecution of Palestinian health workers.”
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