Israeli activists demand release of detained Gaza hospital director

Israeli activists rallied outside a US diplomatic compound in Jerusalem on Monday, demanding the release of detained Palestinian doctor Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, while urging Washington to stop arming Israel.

The protest, organized by the anti-occupation Israeli group Free Jerusalem, also called for an end to Israel’s war on Gaza and the abuse of Palestinian detainees.

Demonstrators held banners demanding Abu Safiya’s release and chanted in support of the Palestinian doctor while beating drums. Other signs urged the US to end military support for Israel.

Louis Frankenthal, one of the protesters, told Anadolu that Abu Safiya’s detention was “illegal” and that the doctor has been subjected to torture, starvation and conditions that put his life at risk.

“Our message is to stop the torture, stop the genocide and stop the war against the Palestinian people immediately,” he said.

Israeli forces detained Abu Safiya on Dec. 27, 2024 during a raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital after forcing patients and medical staff to evacuate and destroying the facility.

Israeli authorities later placed him under the so-called Unlawful Combatant Law, prompting his lawyer, Nasser Odeh, to appeal his continued detention before Israel’s Supreme Court.

Odeh said Abu Safiya appeared during a legal visit with his hands and feet shackled under heavy guard and was suffering from food and water shortages, inadequate medical care, and back and neck pain after being beaten during his transfer to Negev Prison.

Around 9,500 Palestinians are currently held in Israeli prisons, including women and children, under conditions that Palestinian and Israeli rights groups say involve starvation, torture and medical neglect, leading to the deaths of dozens of detainees.