Detained without trial since December 2024, the Gaza pediatrician faces worsening health and isolation while symbolizing the collapse of the enclave’s medical system
Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, a pediatrician and director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya, was arrested on December 27, 2024, during an Israeli military raid inside the hospital. Since then, he has been held in Israel under the “unlawful combatants” law, which allows detention without trial or formal charges for extended periods. His case has been reviewed several times by military courts, which have renewed his detention every six months, most recently in October 2025.
During the first phase of his detention, Abu Safiya was held at the Sde Teiman military facility in the Negev Desert, known for extremely harsh conditions and numerous reports of abuse from former detainees and lawyers. He was later transferred to Ofer Prison. According to testimonies from lawyers and human rights organizations, he was held in solitary confinement for long periods, subjected to exhausting interrogations lasting many hours a day for consecutive weeks, and deprived of sleep.
His health has severely deteriorated: he has lost more than a third of his body weight, suffers from hypertension, heart problems, and skin infections contracted in prison. He has been denied adequate medical care and has limited access to doctors or legal counsel. The cell where he is held is described as damp, cold, lacking natural light, and poorly ventilated; the food is scarce and of poor quality, and clothing and blankets are insufficient.
Abu Safiya was for years a respected figure in Gaza’s healthcare system, committed to providing pediatric care under siege and bombardment. His arrest sparked strong reactions among medical professionals and human rights organizations, which have called for his immediate release and denounced his detention as a violation of international humanitarian law protecting medical personnel in conflict zones.
As of now, he remains imprisoned without trial, under a secret file inaccessible to his defense, and his health continues to worsen.
