Israel’s Supreme Court Upholds Detention of Gaza Hospital Director Under Unlawful Combatants Law
The court upheld detention of Kamal Adwan Hospital director Hussam Abu Safia under the Unlawful Combatants Law. He has been held for more than 500 days.
Al JazeeraIsrael’s Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Hussam Abu Safia on Tuesday, upholding his continued detention under the Unlawful Combatants Law without criminal charges. Abu Safia, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, was captured by the Israeli military in late 2024.
He has remained in custody since, held without charges for more than 500 days, according to Physicians for Human Rights Israel.
The court’s decision leaves Abu Safia in solitary confinement at Nafha Prison. PHRI said he is denied necessary medical care. Abu Safia appealed for release via video link last week. Footage showed him looking noticeably thinner, and his family said he showed visible signs of torture.
Before his detention, Abu Safia defied Israeli forced displacement orders and stayed at the hospital to treat patients. He led a funeral procession for his son Ibrahim, who was killed in an Israeli drone strike at the hospital gate. The Palestinian Centre for Prisoners Advocacy condemned the ruling.
It said the court approved continuation of detention without charges or indictment and called for Abu Safia’s immediate release, urgent medical care, and an end to arbitrary detention of medical personnel. Naji Abbas, director of the Prisoners and Detainees Department at PHRI, said the decision represented a profound moral and legal failure.
He stated the court endorsed indefinite detention of a hospital director held in solitary confinement while suffering from untreated medical conditions.
The Centre urged the International Committee of the Red Cross, the World Health Organisation, and United Nations Special Rapporteurs to intervene and press Israeli authorities to end the detention.
