Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, was abducted by Israeli forces on Dec. 27, 2024, and has been held in the most deplorable conditions since, according to his lawyer Gheed Kassem. Dr. Abu Safiya resolutely stayed at his post at the hospital to defend his patients, despite the repeated shelling of the facility, one of the last that was still operating in northern Gaza.
Kassem told Arab48 in an interview published on July 17, that Abu Safiya had faced severe physical assault that resulted in bruising to his head, neck, rib cage, and back, reported {Middle East Eye. When Dr. Abu Safiya requested medical assistance for complications stemming from the beatings, including an irregular heartbeat, his request was denied.
Abu Safiya, who remains in solitary confinement at the Ofer military prison—which houses 450 detainees from the Gaza Strip—weighs no more than 60 kilograms, according to his lawyer. Additionally, Dr. Abu Safiya is held in an underground cell that is completely isolated and receives no natural light.
