Jailed Gaza hospital director faces life-threatening condition, lawyer says

Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in the Gaza Strip, who has been detained by Israel since 2024, is facing an immediate threat to his life, Physicians for Human Rights said Saturday.

Physicians for Human Rights said its lawyer, Nasser Odeh, documented serious injuries, signs of physical abuse, breathing difficulties and repeated episodes of loss of consciousness during a July 2 visit to Abu Safiya at the Rakefet detention facility in Nitzan Prison, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA on Saturday.

Abu Safiya was brought to the meeting shackled at both hands and feet and escorted by masked prison guards, Odeh said.

He reportedly showed fresh injuries and severe bruising around his head, eyes, ears and neck, with Odeh saying his physical condition had deteriorated to the point that he was difficult to recognize.

Physicians for Human Rights Israel renewed its call for the immediate release of Abu Safiya and other doctors held without charge or trial.

Naji Abbas, head of the Prisoners and Detainees Department at the organization, said the latest information has sparked urgent and grave concerns over Abu Safiya’s life.

He said the lawyer’s account was among the most alarming testimonies the organization has received since the start of the war, noting that Abu Safiya expressed fear that he could be killed in detention.

Abbas added that Abu Safiya’s condition deteriorated after he contested his detention in court, saying the developments demand an immediate and impartial investigation.

He emphasized that Israeli authorities are fully accountable for the health, safety and well-being of all detainees and urged swift international intervention.

The Israeli army detained Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, on Dec. 27, 2024, after storming the hospital, forcing him out at gunpoint and rendering large parts of the facility inoperable.

Abu Safiya was injured on Nov. 24, 2024, in an Israeli strike targeting the hospital but refused to leave, continuing to treat patients despite losing his son during an earlier Israeli raid on Oct. 26, 2024.

In Feb. 2025, Israeli authorities designated Abu Safiya an “unlawful combatant” amid reports of torture and medical neglect. The Palestinian Prisoners Media Office announced on June 3, 2026, that he had been transferred to solitary confinement.