Palestinian doctor from Gaza detained by Israeli authorities
Name(s):
Hussam Idris Amer Abu Safiya
Status:
Detained
Year of birth:
1973
Profession:
Paediatrician; lead physician at MedGlobal; director of Kamal Adwan Hospital
Nationality:
Palestinian
Date of arrest:
In the early hours of December 28, 2024, Dr. Abu Safiya was arrested by Israeli forces during a military raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital. He was forcibly disappeared, subjected to torture, and detained without charges under Israel’s Unlawful Combatants Law. On October 16, 2025, Dr. Abu Safiya’s detention order was extended again for six months. Despite global calls by the UN and human rights organisations for his release, he remains arbitrarily detained.
Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya is a paediatrician, lead physician at MedGlobal, and director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza. Dr. Abu Safiya also used his social media to share updates on Israeli attacks on Kamal Adwan Hospital, and provide critical information on the assistance and material needed for the hospital to continue operating, to ensure medical care can be provided to his patients.
On the morning of December 27, 2024, Israeli military forces launched a military raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital, which forced the last major functioning hospital in northern Gaza out of service. Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya was summoned by the Israeli military, forced to evacuate most of his patients and staff, and arrested during the early hours of December 28.
For 45 days, Dr. Abu Safiya was held incommunicado, with no contact with his family or his legal counsel. When human rights organisation Physicians for Human Rights–Israel (PHRI) submitted an inquiry on January 2, 2025, the military denied of any record of his arrest. It was only three days later that they confirmed he was in fact in their custody, while still refusing to disclose his location.
On February 11, 2025, Dr. Abu Safiya was finally permitted a first visit from his lawyer, affiliated with Al Mezan Center for Human Rights (Al Mezan), at Ofer Prison.
During the visit, Dr. Abu Safiya described the psychological and physical torture be had been subjected to at the hands of Israeli authorities: he was stripped naked, shackled, beaten with batons, and forced to sit on gravel for hours. He endured prolonged interrogations lasting up to 13 consecutive days, electric shocks, chest blows, and threats involving family members. He lost 12 kilograms in less than two months, and was denied necessary medical care.
On February 12, 2025, the Commander of the Southern Command of the Israeli army issued an order to detain Dr. Abu Safiya as an “unlawful combatant” under the Unlawful Combatants Law. The following day, on February 13, 2025, the order was delivered to the Ashkelon Court and Dr. Abu Safiya’s lawyer. A hearing scheduled for that same day to consider the extension of Dr. Abu Safiya’s detention was cancelled after authorities invoked the Unlawful Combatants Law.
Previously, on January 9, 2025, the Magistrates’ Court of Ashkelon had extended Dr. Abu Safiya’s detention based on suspicions that he had committed offenses under the Israeli Penal Code. However, due to the prosecution’s failure to gather sufficient evidence to support an indictment, as required by the Israeli Criminal Procedure Law of 1996, Israeli authorities reverted to detaining him under the Unlawful Combatants Law.
According to his lawyers, Israeli authorities attempted to reclassify the matter as a criminal case to pursue a formal indictment. However, following a series of interrogations and episodes of severe torture intended to coerce Dr. Abu Safiya into confessions for use in court, Israeli authorities were still unable to establish any grounds for prosecution after more than 45 days in custody. As a result, his case was ultimately returned to its original classification under the Unlawful Combatants Law.
On March 20, 2025, one of Abu Safiya’s lawyers was granted a 17-minute visit in Ofer Prison. During the visit, Dr. Abu Safiya reportedly held that he had been severely beaten six times since the previous meeting with his lawyers 10 days prior. He reported that four of his ribs had been broken, that he suffered injuries to his eyes, including clearly visible bruising, and that he had been denied glasses for his poor eyesight. Regarding the conditions of detention, very little food was available to Dr. Abu Safiya and other detainees, the bathroom was only made available for one hour a week and for one minute per detainee, and there was only one towel for every five detainees.
On March 25, 2025, the Be’er Sheva (or Bir al-Sabi’) District Court, an Israeli civil court, reviewed and upheld the detention order issued on February 12, 2025 by the Commander of the Southern Command of the Israeli army against Dr. Abu Safiya, upholding his detention for another six months.
During the hearing, the Southern District Prosecutor submitted a secret file to the court, alleging that Dr. Abu Safiya poses a threat to the security of the State of Israel and has engaged in “hostile” activities. In response, Dr. Abu Safiya’s legal team asserted his innocence and held that he was solely performing medical and administrative duties at Kamal Adwan Hospital. The defence also requested access to the classified investigation materials; however, the prosecution refused, and the court upheld the refusal.
On April 30, 2025, MENA Rights Group petitioned the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on behalf of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, urging them to rule his detention as arbitrary under international law, and to call on Israeli authorities to release him immediately.
On October 16, 2025, the Be’er Sheva (or Bir al-Sabi’) District Court extended the detention of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya for an additional six months. Dr. Abu Safiya's legal counsel attended the hearing in-person and challenged the lawfulness of his detention, noting the absence of any incriminating evidence and the lack of any formal charges against him. Dr. Abu Safiya joined the hearing via video call from his place of detention, in Ofer Prison.
Dr. Abu Safiya’s detention has been condemned by UN human rights experts, including the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, and the UN Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, as well as human rights organisations, including Amnesty International, among others.
The Unlawful Combatants Law strips Palestinian detainees of their rights protected under international law, and allows for their indefinite detention, without charge or trial. The text allows Israeli authorities to detain Palestinians on suspicions of being an “unlawful combatant”, which carries no legal status under international humanitarian law, on the basis of “secret evidence”, which neither the defence nor their lawyers have the right to access or challenge. The Israeli military is not required to issue a detention order for the first 45 days of detention, and detainees are denied access to a lawyer for up to 90 days.
Since October 2023, Israeli authorities have relied on the Unlawful Combatants Law to detain thousands of Palestinians, including hundreds of healthcare workers like Dr. Abu Safiya. Israel’s targeting of medical facilities and health care workers contributes to the decimation and collapse of Gaza’s healthcare system, which is a component of Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.
| Name(s): |
Hussam Idris Amer Abu Safiya
|
| Status: |
Detained
|
| Year of birth: |
1973
|
| Profession: |
Paediatrician; lead physician at MedGlobal; director of Kamal Adwan Hospital
|
| Nationality: |
Palestinian
|
| Date of arrest: |
|
Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya is a paediatrician, lead physician at MedGlobal, and director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza. Dr. Abu Safiya also used his social media to share updates on Israeli attacks on Kamal Adwan Hospital, and provide critical information on the assistance and material needed for the hospital to continue operating, to ensure medical care can be provided to his patients.
On the morning of December 27, 2024, Israeli military forces launched a military raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital, which forced the last major functioning hospital in northern Gaza out of service. Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya was summoned by the Israeli military, forced to evacuate most of his patients and staff, and arrested during the early hours of December 28.
For 45 days, Dr. Abu Safiya was held incommunicado, with no contact with his family or his legal counsel. When human rights organisation Physicians for Human Rights–Israel (PHRI) submitted an inquiry on January 2, 2025, the military denied of any record of his arrest. It was only three days later that they confirmed he was in fact in their custody, while still refusing to disclose his location.
On February 11, 2025, Dr. Abu Safiya was finally permitted a first visit from his lawyer, affiliated with Al Mezan Center for Human Rights (Al Mezan), at Ofer Prison.
During the visit, Dr. Abu Safiya described the psychological and physical torture be had been subjected to at the hands of Israeli authorities: he was stripped naked, shackled, beaten with batons, and forced to sit on gravel for hours. He endured prolonged interrogations lasting up to 13 consecutive days, electric shocks, chest blows, and threats involving family members. He lost 12 kilograms in less than two months, and was denied necessary medical care.
On February 12, 2025, the Commander of the Southern Command of the Israeli army issued an order to detain Dr. Abu Safiya as an “unlawful combatant” under the Unlawful Combatants Law. The following day, on February 13, 2025, the order was delivered to the Ashkelon Court and Dr. Abu Safiya’s lawyer. A hearing scheduled for that same day to consider the extension of Dr. Abu Safiya’s detention was cancelled after authorities invoked the Unlawful Combatants Law.
Previously, on January 9, 2025, the Magistrates’ Court of Ashkelon had extended Dr. Abu Safiya’s detention based on suspicions that he had committed offenses under the Israeli Penal Code. However, due to the prosecution’s failure to gather sufficient evidence to support an indictment, as required by the Israeli Criminal Procedure Law of 1996, Israeli authorities reverted to detaining him under the Unlawful Combatants Law.
According to his lawyers, Israeli authorities attempted to reclassify the matter as a criminal case to pursue a formal indictment. However, following a series of interrogations and episodes of severe torture intended to coerce Dr. Abu Safiya into confessions for use in court, Israeli authorities were still unable to establish any grounds for prosecution after more than 45 days in custody. As a result, his case was ultimately returned to its original classification under the Unlawful Combatants Law.
On March 20, 2025, one of Abu Safiya’s lawyers was granted a 17-minute visit in Ofer Prison. During the visit, Dr. Abu Safiya reportedly held that he had been severely beaten six times since the previous meeting with his lawyers 10 days prior. He reported that four of his ribs had been broken, that he suffered injuries to his eyes, including clearly visible bruising, and that he had been denied glasses for his poor eyesight. Regarding the conditions of detention, very little food was available to Dr. Abu Safiya and other detainees, the bathroom was only made available for one hour a week and for one minute per detainee, and there was only one towel for every five detainees.
On March 25, 2025, the Be’er Sheva (or Bir al-Sabi’) District Court, an Israeli civil court, reviewed and upheld the detention order issued on February 12, 2025 by the Commander of the Southern Command of the Israeli army against Dr. Abu Safiya, upholding his detention for another six months.
During the hearing, the Southern District Prosecutor submitted a secret file to the court, alleging that Dr. Abu Safiya poses a threat to the security of the State of Israel and has engaged in “hostile” activities. In response, Dr. Abu Safiya’s legal team asserted his innocence and held that he was solely performing medical and administrative duties at Kamal Adwan Hospital. The defence also requested access to the classified investigation materials; however, the prosecution refused, and the court upheld the refusal.
On April 30, 2025, MENA Rights Group petitioned the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on behalf of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, urging them to rule his detention as arbitrary under international law, and to call on Israeli authorities to release him immediately.
On October 16, 2025, the Be’er Sheva (or Bir al-Sabi’) District Court extended the detention of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya for an additional six months. Dr. Abu Safiya's legal counsel attended the hearing in-person and challenged the lawfulness of his detention, noting the absence of any incriminating evidence and the lack of any formal charges against him. Dr. Abu Safiya joined the hearing via video call from his place of detention, in Ofer Prison.
Dr. Abu Safiya’s detention has been condemned by UN human rights experts, including the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, and the UN Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, as well as human rights organisations, including Amnesty International, among others.
The Unlawful Combatants Law strips Palestinian detainees of their rights protected under international law, and allows for their indefinite detention, without charge or trial. The text allows Israeli authorities to detain Palestinians on suspicions of being an “unlawful combatant”, which carries no legal status under international humanitarian law, on the basis of “secret evidence”, which neither the defence nor their lawyers have the right to access or challenge. The Israeli military is not required to issue a detention order for the first 45 days of detention, and detainees are denied access to a lawyer for up to 90 days.
Since October 2023, Israeli authorities have relied on the Unlawful Combatants Law to detain thousands of Palestinians, including hundreds of healthcare workers like Dr. Abu Safiya. Israel’s targeting of medical facilities and health care workers contributes to the decimation and collapse of Gaza’s healthcare system, which is a component of Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.
