Israeli Forces Hold Kamal Adwan Hospital Director Hussam Abu Safiya in Nafha Solitary Confinement

Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, is being held in Israeli solitary confinement in Nafha Prison in southern Israel, a Palestinian lawyer said, describing “harsh conditions.”

“The Israeli occupation authorities are subjecting Palestinian doctor Hussam Abu Safiya, detained from the Gaza Strip, to solitary confinement in Nafha Prison following reports about his deteriorating health”

Al-Jazeera Net

Nasser Odeh told Anadolu that Abu Safiya was transferred on June 3 to solitary confinement in Nafha Prison after Odeh visited him on May 26, and that “Abu Safiya is not receiving the essential medications he needs.”

Al-Jazeera Net

Odeh said Abu Safiya was detained in late 2024 during a military raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza amid Israel’s war on the enclave, and that during a recent visit he was “handcuffed and shackled.”

BBC reported that in a cell described as “solitary confinement” inside Nafha Desert Prison, Abu Safiya has been held far from his family since December 27, 2024, with the Southern District Public Prosecutor’s Office filing a “secret file” against him.

Nasser Abu Awda, the doctor’s Palestinian lawyer, told BBC that the last contact with his client occurred about 10 days ago during a visit by lawyers inside the prison, and that Israeli authorities “have barred since the outbreak of the war visits by families of Palestinian prisoners.”

BBC said Abu Awda described conditions as “very harsh and extremely difficult detention conditions in every respect,” including that “Medical treatment is the most important matter; Dr. Hussam suffers from chronic diseases.”

Anadolu Ajansı

The BBC account also said the IDF’s Southern Command issued an order dated February 12, 2025 to transfer the doctor under the “Unlawful Combatant Law,” and that the defense team filed an appeal with the Israeli Supreme Court set to hear the case in a session on June 10.

In a separate report, the Palestinian Prisoners Information Office said it had received information that Israeli authorities moved Abu Safiya to solitary confinement in Nafha Prison on June 3, and that he filed a petition ten days ago with the Supreme Court to halt his detention.

Al-Jazeera Net reported that Abu Safiya asked during his meeting with his lawyer to deliver the voice of prisoners through Al Jazeera journalist and martyr Anas Al-Sharif, believing he was alive and unaware of his death due to being cut off from news during isolation.

“BBC tracks the story of Dr”

BBC

The same report said the Palestinian Prisoners Information Office stated that the Israeli prison administration moved Abu Safiya to solitary confinement on June 3, and it described solitary confinement as a method the occupation uses “to pressure prisoners not to go to the Supreme Court.”

Al-Jazeera Net added that Anas Al-Sharif was martyred on August 11, 2025 after an Israeli strike targeted a media tent near Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, and it said Abu Safiya’s efforts as a pediatrician were tied to denial of essential medical treatment and detention under harsh conditions.

Anadolu reported that Israel has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians and injured over 173,000 in a two-year genocidal war in Gaza since October 2023, and that despite a ceasefire that took effect on Oct. 10, 2025, the Israeli army has killed at least 961 Palestinians and injured over 3,000 others in near-daily attacks, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.