Overview
- The Supreme Court rejected an appeal on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, so Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya remains held without criminal charges under the Unlawful Combatants Law and is held in solitary at Nafha Prison.
- Abu Safiya has been detained by Israel since late December 2024 under a law that permits detention without formal indictment and allows periodic extensions without open-court evidence.
- Israeli security officials allege Abu Safiya had organizational ties to Hamas but have not presented that evidence in open court and Gaza’s health ministry and Hamas deny the claims.
- His lawyers and rights groups say he has suffered weight loss, bruising, shackling, solitary confinement and inadequate medical care, claims the prison service denies and that family members and PHRI have publicly documented.
- The case has drawn calls from rights groups, editors and medical advocates for either public evidence and an indictment or his release, and it highlights a broader pattern of detained Gaza health workers with potential impacts on care in the Strip.