Detained Gaza doctor Hussam Abu Safia shows signs of torture, family says

Published 11 June 2026 · health

Gaza hospital director appears in Israeli court shackled, as lawyer and family demand release, fearing for his life. A prominent Palestinian doctor abducted by Israel

Gaza hospital director appears in Israeli court shackled, as lawyer and family demand release, fearing for his life. A prominent Palestinian doctor abducted by Israel in late 2024 and held in detention ever since has appeared by video link at an Israeli Supreme Court hearing in Jerusalem, with his family saying he shows signs of visible torture. Dr Hussam Abu Safia, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, demanded his immediate release after months of imprisonment when he appeared on Wednesday. Footage showed him looking noticeably thinner in his face and around his abdomen. “My detention is unjust and arbitrary, and I demand my immediate release,” Abu Safia told the court through his defence lawyer, Nasser Abu Odeh. “I am a paediatrician who provides medical services and care to patients, the wounded and vulnerable people in the Gaza Strip.” Abu Safia has been held without charge, according to the Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI), an Israeli rights group, for more than 500 days.

“Dr Hussam remains in solitary confinement in Nafha Prison. He appeared in court via screen, handcuffed and shackled, the court refused to remove the shackles,” his lawyer Abu Odeh told Al Jazeera. “He has not received medical treatment or the medications he requires for his chronic illness. He continues to suffer from severe back and neck pain following an assault, and is experiencing vision problems after his glasses were confiscated and have not yet been returned.” Speaking to Al Jazeera after the court session, Abu Safia’s son, Ilyas Abu Safia, said: “When we saw his latest image, we received it with shock, with tears and with weeping. “We did not only see the face of a father we have missed for many long months, we saw the marks of torture, pain and exhaustion clearly etched on his face.” Abu Odeh added that visible signs of skin disease had appeared on the doctor’s hands, a condition he said was widespread among Palestinian political prisoners.

“It appears the Israeli authorities are deliberately withholding medical care in order to further oppress Palestinian detainees held within these prisons.” Held without charge The Israeli army seized Abu Safia on December 27, 2024, during a raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital. The doctor had previously defied Israeli forced displacement orders to leave the hospital and stayed to treat his patients, and had become well known for his video statements asking the world to stop Israel’s attacks on medical facilities. He led a funeral procession for his son Ibrahim, who was killed in an Israeli drone strike at the hospital gate. Abu Safia has since been held under Israel’s “Unlawful Combatant Law” legislation enacted in 2002 that allows indefinite detention without formal charges and strips prisoners of protections under the Geneva Conventions. The court postponed a ruling on whether his detention would continue, with a decision expected within days. The United Nations, the World Health Organization, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and numerous human rights organisations and lawyers have called for Abu Safia’s immediate release.