politics
UN Calls for Release of Gaza Hospital Director; Israel Denies Abuse Allegations
A United Nations commission on Wednesday called for the immediate release of Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, who was seized in December 2024 and remains held without charge. The statement cited reports of abuse and raised concerns over violations of international law.
Jul 8, 7:36 AM·1m read3 sources
Abuse claimsSecurity case
Al JazeeraAudio version
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The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, urged the immediate release of Hussam Abu Safiya on Wednesday. Abu Safiya serves as director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in the Gaza Strip and was seized by the Israeli military in December 2024. He remains held in Israel without charge.
The commission expressed concern at reports of abuse against Abu Safiya. It stated that the actions of Israeli Prison Service guards toward Palestinian detainees raise grave concerns of violations of international law that likely amount to international crimes, and that Abu Safiya’s medical condition is the direct result of these actions.
An Israel Prison Service spokesperson said on Wednesday that the allegations and characterizations described are false, outrageous and entirely without factual basis.
The spokesperson did not name Abu Safiya. The service has previously rejected allegations that Abu Safiya and other doctors have been mistreated in prison. On Monday, Abu Safiya's lawyer alleged that his health was in danger and that he had been subjected to abuse daily.
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. Rights groups and Abu Safiya's lawyer say his life is in imminent danger, according to Physicians for Human Rights Israel.
On Monday, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention called Israel's detention of Abu Safiya arbitrary and called for his 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 September 2025, the same UN inquiry stated that Israeli authorities had committed genocide by targeting the health-care system and medical professionals in Gaza since October 2023. Israel has accused the inquiry of having a political agenda against the country and of diverging from its mandate, and has declined to cooperate with it.
