Israeli rights group says Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya held in ‘harsh conditions’ without medication or treatment
Lina Altawell
28 April 2026
Istanbul
An Israeli court extended Tuesday the detention of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in the Gaza Strip, without filing charges against him, amid harsh conditions and denial of medical care, a rights group said.
Abu Safiya, a pediatric consultant, was detained on Dec. 27, 2024, when Israeli forces raided the hospital in the northern city of Beit Lahia, detaining him at gunpoint after the facility was destroyed and put out of service.
“The Beersheba District Court approved Tuesday morning the extension of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya’s detention under the Unlawful Combatants Law without filing any charges, and rejected the defense’s request for his immediate release,” Israel’s Physicians for Human Rights said in a statement.
The Unlawful Combatants Law allows Israeli authorities to detain Palestinians from Gaza for prolonged periods without trial.
Although the Beersheba court extended his detention for six months in October 2025, the group said authorities indicated that the latest extension is “indefinite.”
“The court upheld the detention despite arguments that detaining a doctor while performing his medical duties constitutes unlawful detention,” it said.
“Dr. Abu Safiya is currently held in Negev Prison under harsh conditions, without access to his medication or receiving medical treatment, despite the deterioration of his health,” the rights group warned.
Israel continues to detain Abu Safiya despite his repeated denial of engaging in any activity outside his professional medical role, disregarding calls from Israeli, Palestinian and international rights groups demanding his immediate release.
“Dr. Abu Safiya had been tirelessly running the hospital, providing essential care to children and bearing witness to the collapse of Gaza’s healthcare sector under Israel’s genocide.
He continued his work even after the tragic death of his own son during an Israeli airstrike. Like many health workers before him, he was detained while caring for his patients and carrying out his medical duties,” Amnesty International said in an earlier report.
With US support, Israel launched a genocidal war on Oct. 8, 2023, killing more than 72,000 Palestinians and injuring over 172,000, most of them women and children, since October 2023, and causing destruction to about 90% of civilian infrastructure.
Despite a ceasefire in place since Oct. 10, Israel has continued its actions through blockade and daily attacks, killing 818 Palestinians and injuring 2,301 others, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
Israel also continues to block the entry of agreed quantities of food, medicine, medical supplies and shelter materials into Gaza, where about 2.4 million Palestinians, including 1.5 million displaced, live in severe humanitarian conditions.
*Writing by Lina Altawell
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