Palestinian Doctor Hussam Abu Safiya Held Without Charge for Over 550 Days in Israeli Detention

Palestinian Paediatrician Faces Indefinite Detention as Health Deteriorates
Gaza City, Occupied Palestine – July 9, 2026

A Doctor's Crime: Saving Lives in Gaza

Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya spent years treating children at Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, where he served as medical director before Israeli forces stormed the facility. His work focused on paediatric care amid repeated attacks on health infrastructure, yet his detention frames the simple act of providing medical services as grounds for prolonged imprisonment. Colleagues describe him as a dedicated physician who continued operations even after sustaining injuries from earlier strikes.

His son Elias told Middle East Eye that the family views the detention as part of a broader pattern where medical workers are targeted. "The world clearly doesn't see us as human beings or deserving of equal rights," Elias said. "We have been abandoned." This sentiment echoes across Gaza, where families of detained doctors struggle to maintain contact or secure basic updates on their loved ones' welfare.

550 Days Without Charge: Israel's 'Unlawful Combatant' Law

Israel holds Dr. Abu Safiya under its "unlawful combatant" law, which authorises indefinite detention without filing charges, sharing evidence, or permitting legal representation. The statute has been applied to 2,662 Palestinians as of the August 2024 record, encompassing children, elderly individuals, medical workers, teachers, and journalists. More than 9,100 Palestinians currently sit in Israeli prisons, including over 450 women and children, many held without charge or trial.

Fourteen other doctors from Gaza face the same status without charge. One precedent stands out: Adnan al-Bursh, head of orthopaedics at Al-Shifa Hospital, was found dead in Israeli custody in April 2024. The law's provisions allow authorities to deny detainees access to lawyers for extended periods, creating conditions where oversight remains minimal.

'They Brought Me Here to Kill Me' — Medical Evidence of Torture

Lawyer Nasser Odeh visited Dr. Abu Safiya on 2 July 2026 at the Rakefet interrogation facility inside Nitzan Prison. He documented severe beatings around the head, visible facial injuries, difficulty breathing and speaking, and extreme psychological distress. Dr. Abu Safiya told his lawyer directly: "This is the last time you will see me... They brought me here to kill me. I don't see myself surviving. This is the end."

Reports indicate daily beatings, prolonged solitary confinement, and denial of treatment for pre-existing conditions that include heart disease, high blood pressure, scabies, impaired vision, and six pieces of shrapnel lodged in his leg from a 2024 quadcopter shooting. He has lost more than 25 kilograms, roughly one-third of his body weight, since detention began. Physicians for Human Rights Israel warned that his life faces imminent danger after he developed an enlarged heart linked to uncontrolled high blood pressure. Four to five prison guards allegedly assaulted him with a hammer and metal batons ahead of a Supreme Court hearing.

A Health System Under Attack

The raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital formed part of a wider campaign against Gaza's medical facilities. Israeli forces ordered the evacuation and seized staff, including Dr. Abu Safiya, disrupting care for thousands of patients in northern Gaza. Similar actions at other hospitals have left entire regions without functional paediatric or surgical services.

Detention of medical personnel compounds the damage. With 14 doctors currently held without charge, Gaza's remaining health workers operate under constant threat. Families in affected areas report increased mortality from treatable conditions because specialists remain unavailable. The pattern connects directly to daily life in Gaza, where access to basic medicines and follow-up care already strains under blockade conditions.

International Law and the Call for Release

Israel's Supreme Court rejected petitions seeking the release of Dr. Abu Safiya and other detained doctors. The state responded that he had been "examined several times" but offered no reply to specific torture allegations. International humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conventions, requires protection for medical personnel and prohibits arbitrary detention or mistreatment. Groups such as Physicians for Human Rights Israel continue to document cases where these standards appear breached.

Advocates argue that the "unlawful combatant" framework conflicts with obligations under international treaties Israel has ratified. The absence of charges or evidence review leaves detainees without recourse, a situation that has drawn scrutiny from human rights monitors focused on the occupied Palestinian territories.

What Must Happen Now

Immediate independent medical access and legal review remain the minimum steps required to address Dr. Abu Safiya's documented injuries and weight loss. His family seeks transparency on his current location and health status following the 2 July 2026 lawyer visit. Broader release of the 14 detained doctors would restore capacity to Gaza's strained hospitals.

Continued application of the "unlawful combatant" law without safeguards risks further deterioration in cases like this one. Palestinian voices, including those of Elias Abu Safiya and surviving medical colleagues, emphasise that accountability begins with ending indefinite detention and ensuring medical workers can return to their communities. Figures on total detainees were not immediately available beyond the cited totals, yet the individual stories illustrate the human cost of these policies.