Israeli Forces Detain Kamal Adwan Hospital Director Hussam Abu Safiya in Life-Threatening Danger

In Gaza’s war zone, Palestinian paediatrician Dr Hussam Abu Safia, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, became a symbol of courage when he walked towards an Israeli tank after being ordered to approach, while his family lived for months after Israeli forces threatened their home.

“In a besieged hospital in Gaza, Dr Hussam Abu Safia fights to save lives amid a blockade, personal tragedy and detention, triggering global calls for justice”

Al Jazeera

The documentary described a blockade on medicine, food, water and fuel as Abu Safia treated waves of war-wounded patients, and it said his son Ibrahim was killed, another son Idris was injured, and the doctor himself was wounded.

Al Jazeera

It also said that in December 2024, Kamal Adwan was bombed and stormed, with staff detained and tortured, and that Abu Safia remains in “administrative detention” without charge.

The film’s account tied the hospital’s besiegement to a wider pattern of detention, with global calls for his release closing the story.

The same Gaza hospital director is later described in Israeli prison reporting as imprisoned since 2024, with Physicians for Human Rights saying he is in immediate life-threatening danger after a lawyer reported a severe deterioration following a visit at the “Rakefet” detention facility at Israel's Nitzan Prison.

Physicians for Human Rights said it received information that Dr. Husam Abu Safiya was moved to solitary confinement at Genot Prison after being abruptly removed from Ketziot Prison, and it said it had not received any clarification about the reasons for his transfer or for placing him in solitary confinement.

In a separate warning, Physicians for Human Rights Association and the Palestinian Prisoners Club said his lawyer documented severe injuries, signs of assault, difficulty breathing, and repeated loss of consciousness after his transfer to the underground investigations section Rikhevet at Ramla Prison (Nitzan).

Al-Jazeera Net

The Panet report said that during a June 4 visit by an organization lawyer to five Palestinian doctors from Gaza detained in Ketziot Prison, security personnel restrained Dr. Abu Safiya and took him to an unknown destination without providing any explanation.

In Haaretz reporting, Physicians for Human Rights linked the deterioration to a visit at the “Rakefet” detention facility at Israel's Nitzan Prison, describing the danger as immediate and life-threatening.

The Panet account also stated that Dr. Abu Safiya has been detained in Israeli prisons since December 2024 without charges, and it said solitary confinement is among the harshest forms of detention under the United Nations Mandela Rules.

Multiple outlets framed the case as a demand for urgent external intervention, with Physicians for Human Rights urging an urgent visit by a judge to review Dr. Husam Abu Safiya’s condition before it is too late.

“Gift this articleShare to FacebookPrint article Article printing is available to subscribers only Print in a simple, ad-free format Subscribe Comments: SaveZen Reading Zen reading is available to subscribers only Ad-free and in a comfortable reading format Subscribe”

Haaretz

In a Quds News Network account, lawyer Nasser Awda quoted Dr. Abu Safiya saying, "This is the last time you will see me... They brought me here to kill me... I do not see myself alive... This is the end."

The same account said Awda sent an urgent request to the Israeli Prison Service calling to end the assaults, transfer him immediately to another detention site, and provide full medical care, while holding the prison administration fully responsible for his life.

In parallel, Physicians for Human Rights and the Palestinian Prisoners Club warned that any delay in intervention could put his life at real risk, and they called for an independent medical examination and an independent official body to visit him.

Outside the prison system, Amnesty International’s deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa, Saleh Higazi, described a broader context of detention without trial or charge, saying, “This boycott is a renewed collective call saying‘enough is enough’.”