Israel Denies Risk to Gaza Hospital Director; UN Urges Release Over Abuse Claims

Israel stated there is no indication that the life of Hussam Abu Safiya is in danger while he remains held in isolation. The statement came in response to a petition filed seeking his release from detention. Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in the Gaza Strip, was seized by the Israeli military in December 2024 and remains held without charge.

His lawyer alleged on Monday that his health was in danger and that he had been subjected to abuse daily. The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, urged his immediate release on Wednesday.

The commission expressed concern at reports of abuse and stated that actions by Israeli Prison Service guards toward Palestinian detainees raise grave concerns of violations of international law that likely amount to international crimes.

It added that Abu Safiya’s medical condition is the direct result of those actions. An Israel Prison Service spokesperson said on Wednesday that the allegations and characterizations are false, outrageous and entirely without factual basis. The spokesperson did not name Abu Safiya.

On Monday the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention called the detention arbitrary and called for immediate release, stating that the actions contravened multiple articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

In June Abu Safiya attended a Supreme Court hearing in Jerusalem via video link and appeared noticeably thinner in the face and around his abdomen.