Gaza doctor Hussam Abu Safiya held in inhumane Israeli prison conditions

Lawyer says detained pediatrician is tortured and denied basic rights under Israel’s ‘illegal combatant’ law.

A demonstrator holds a sign showing Palestinian paediatrician Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Jabalia, northern Gaza, who is detained by Israel, during an anti-government protest over the deaths of Gaza aid workers outside the Israeli Defence Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv on April 5, 2025. Photo by Jack Guez/AFP

By Anna Fadiah and Hayu Andini

The case of Gaza doctor Hussam Abu Safiya, detained by Israeli forces during an assault on Kamal Adwan hospital in December, continues to raise alarm among human rights advocates and global health leaders. According to his lawyer, the 52-year-old pediatrician is being held in "inhumane" conditions and subjected to both physical and psychological abuse.

Abu Safiya, who served as the director of Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahia, came to global attention in late 2023 by documenting the worsening humanitarian crisis inside his besieged facility. His updates painted a grim picture of overcrowded wards, shortages of medicine, and the devastating toll of Israel’s military operations on Gaza's healthcare system.

That visibility may have made him a target.

On December 27, Israeli troops stormed Kamal Adwan hospital, declaring it a Hamas “terrorist centre.” Dozens of staff members were arrested, among them Gaza doctor Hussam Abu Safiya. The Israeli military claimed he was a “Hamas operative,” though no public evidence has been presented to support this allegation.

Lawyer alleges torture and mistreatment

In March, Abu Safiya’s lawyer, Gheed Qassem, was finally permitted to visit him in Ofer prison in the occupied West Bank. Speaking to AFP in Nazareth, Qassem described a harrowing encounter with her client.

“He is suffering greatly, he is exhausted from the torture, the pressure and the humiliation he has endured to force him to confess to acts he did not commit,” she said. Her visit lasted only 17 minutes under strict surveillance.

Before being transferred to Ofer, the Gaza pediatrician spent two weeks at Sde Teiman military base in southern Israel, where Qassem said he endured interrogations involving beatings and physical torture. After his transfer, he was placed in a cramped cell in Ofer for 25 days and subjected to additional questioning.

Abu Safiya’s treatment, according to Qassem, included fractured ribs, weight loss of 20 kilograms, and lack of access to proper medical care. He now suffers from arterial tension, irregular heartbeat, and vision issues—conditions aggravated by the alleged mistreatment he’s received in custody.

Classified case and legal obstacles

Qassem also revealed that her client has been labeled an “illegal combatant,” a designation under a controversial Israeli law passed in 2002 that allows indefinite detention of individuals accused of being part of “hostile forces” without the protections of a formal trial.

This label effectively suspends standard legal rights, and in Abu Safiya’s case, means his defense team has no access to the details of his charges or the evidence allegedly gathered against him. The military has classified the case, denying both his lawyer and any oversight bodies the opportunity to scrutinize his arrest and ongoing detention.

“It’s a legal black hole,” Qassem said. “We can’t access any files. We can’t challenge the evidence because we don’t know what it is.”

Adding to the legal hurdles, Qassem said that during visits, lawyers are barred from telling detainees the date, time, or even their geographic location—a policy that isolates prisoners even further from the outside world.

International concern and growing support

The arrest of the Kamal Adwan hospital doctor has sparked global attention. A social media campaign under the hashtag #FreeDrHussamAbuSafiya has gained momentum, supported by healthcare professionals, international organizations, and prominent figures. Among them is Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, who publicly called for Abu Safiya’s release on X (formerly Twitter).

Human rights organizations have also taken note. In January, Amnesty International issued a statement demanding his immediate release and condemning what it called the “horrifying reality” faced by Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons. According to the group, these prisoners face systemic torture and mistreatment, especially in the wake of Israel’s large-scale military.

Amnesty’s findings align with what Qassem described. The lawyer says her client has been pressured to confess to treating wounded Hamas fighters or Israeli hostages held in Gaza—claims he firmly denies.

“He insists that he is simply a pediatrician,” Qassem said. “Everything he did was out of a moral, professional, and human duty towards his patients and the wounded.”

A broader pattern of detentions

Since the beginning of the war in October 2023, Israeli forces have arrested around 5,000 Gazans, Qassem said. While some have been released as part of exchanges for hostages, many remain imprisoned under allegations of terrorism or threats to national security.

Legal advocates say numerous detainees have been held for weeks or months without access to legal counsel, without being charged, and without their families or lawyers knowing their whereabouts. This secrecy has raised alarms among human rights groups, who argue the practice violates both Israeli law and international legal standards.

While the Israeli military declined to comment to AFP regarding Abu Safiya’s specific case or the general conditions of prisoners held in Ofer or Sde Teiman, former detainees and legal representatives have described a system designed to isolate, intimidate, and silence suspects without due process.

Health crisis and ethical duty

For many in the medical community, the case of the detained Gaza doctor Hussam Abu Safiya represents a dangerous precedent. Targeting healthcare professionals for fulfilling their medical duties during wartime raises ethical concerns and risks undermining international laws protecting doctors, nurses, and medical infrastructure in conflict zones.

“We are witnessing a collapse in humanitarian norms,” said one international law expert following the case. “Doctors treating patients—regardless of who they are—should not be punished. It’s a violation of medical neutrality.”

As the war continues to rage in Gaza, and as health infrastructure across the Strip lies in ruins, Abu Safiya’s detention highlights the personal cost borne by those who stayed behind to provide care. For now, his supporters continue to demand transparency, justice, and above all, his release.

Meanwhile, his lawyer fears time is running out.

“His health is deteriorating rapidly,” Qassem said. “He needs urgent medical attention—and justice. Not indefinite imprisonment in a legal limbo.”