Overview
- Physicians for Human Rights Israel said on the weekend that Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya is in immediate, life‑threatening danger following a visit by his lawyer on Thursday that documented a sharp deterioration in his condition.
- The lawyer reported seeing fresh head and neck wounds, extreme weakness, difficulty breathing, and that Abu Safiya was brought to the meeting with his hands and feet shackled and said he had been beaten daily.
- Abu Safiya was arrested on December 27, 2024 and has been held without public charge under Israel’s Unlawful Combatants administrative detention rules while the Supreme Court rejected a recent appeal challenging his continued detention.
- The Israel Prison Service has rejected allegations of abuse and said detainees receive medical care in line with Ministry of Health guidance, while rights groups, the family and UN experts demand independent monitoring, urgent treatment, or release.
- He is one of about 14 Gaza doctors held without charge and his lawyers have filed petitions seeking his transfer from Nitzan’s Rakefet unit, a development that could increase international pressure over the treatment of medical staff and Gaza’s collapsing health system.