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UN group calls for release of detained Gaza doctor, Israel has not commented
A UN human rights body on July 6 demanded the immediate release of Hussam Abu Safia, held without charge since December 2024. The group cited violations of international human rights standards and reports of daily abuse.
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A UN human rights group warned on July 6 that the life of Palestinian doctor Hussam Abu Safia is in imminent danger and demanded his immediate release from Israeli detention. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention stated that Israel’s actions violated multiple articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
It said the appropriate remedy is to release Abu Safia immediately and accord him an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations in accordance with international law.
The group added that Abu Safia’s case may indicate a widespread or systematic practice of arbitrary detention in Israel. Al Jazeera reported that Abu Safia appeared via video link at an Israeli Supreme Court hearing on June 10. Lawyer Nasser Odeh warned that Abu Safia’s health is in grave danger after being subjected to brutal abuse on a daily basis.
Rights groups and his family state he shows signs of having been regularly tortured. Abu Safia was the director of Kamal Adwan hospital in Gaza when Israeli authorities detained him along with other medical staff and patients in December 2024. He has been held without charge since then.
The paediatrician continued working after one of his sons was killed in an Israeli drone strike. The Israel Prison Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment on July 6.
