11 January 2026
Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, a prominent Palestinian paediatrician, neonatologist and Director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, the only hospital still functioning in 2024, was kidnapped by the Israelis and is still imprisoned by them where, other Palestinians report, he has been repeatedly abused or tortured. Here is a letter to the BMJ on this appalling crime.
31 December 2025
Yamina Boukari, Research Fellow, Derek Summerfield (Kings’ College London), Maju Brunette (The Ohio State University), James Smith (University College London) @BoukariYamina
Rapid Response:
Dr Hussam Abu Safiya: A year of detention without trial or charge
Dear Editor,
The 27th December 2025 marked one year of the ongoing detention – without trial or charge – of Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, a prominent Palestinian paediatrician, neonatologist and Director of Kamal Adwan Hospital – at the time, the last major functioning health facility in Northern Gaza. He was detained by the Israeli military in 2024 following a sustained siege and attacks on the hospital.[1] His detention is illustrative of Israel’s weaponisation of healthcare, including the systematic killing, kidnapping and torture of Palestinian healthcare workers. The global healthcare community must pressure those with power and influence to secure the immediate release of Dr Abu Safiya, the many other detained Palestinian healthcare workers, and the thousands of Palestinians in Israeli detention.
As hospital director, Dr Abu Safiya was responsible for providing care to thousands of Palestinians subjected to repeated bombardment, ground attacks, siege and displacement.[2] He had been a prominent Palestinian voice conveying information to the international media (who were barred from entering Gaza), and human rights and humanitarian organisations. Dr Abu Safiya was briefly detained during an earlier raid in October 2024. During this assault, his 15-year-old son was killed in an Israeli drone strike.[3] Despite the Israeli military repeatedly threatening his life and demanding that he leave the hospital, he remained committed to his “humanitarian mission” and “serving until the last breath”.[4]
On the 27th December 2024, the Israeli military surrounded, raided and severely damaged the hospital, forcibly removing patients and female healthcare workers, with others “reportedly stripped and forced to walk toward southern Gaza”.[2] Dr Abu Safiya was detained and is being held under Israel’s Unlawful Combatants Law, which enables the military to detain anyone from Gaza who they suspect of engaging in hostilities or posing a threat to Israel for indefinitely renewable periods without supporting evidence. Dr Abu Safiya has not been charged or taken to trial. He has been held at multiple sites, including the infamous Sde Teiman military base and Ofer prison. His lawyer reports that he is being held in inhumane conditions, has been subjected to severe beatings, and has lost a third of his body weight due to only being given two spoonfuls of rice daily.[5]
International organisations, including Amnesty International, and the United Nations Special Rapporteur for occupied Palestine continue to call for Dr Abu Safiya’s release.[1,6] In January 2025, a motion was tabled in the UK Parliament calling for his release,[7] and he was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.[8] The Israeli Medical Association has remained silent on his detention, which is unsurprising given its failure to investigate allegations of Israeli health worker complicity in the torture of Palestinian detainees.
This global attention is not enough. Without immediate action to secure his release, Dr Abu Safiya’s life remains in grave danger. At least 74 Palestinians have died or been killed in Israeli detention since October 2023,[9] of whom five were healthcare professionals,[10] including Dr Adnan Al-Bursh, the head of the orthopaedic department at Al-Shifa Hospital who was abducted whilst carrying out his medical duties, and died in Ofer prison after reportedly being tortured.
The global healthcare community has an obligation to speak out, denounce, and act in response to Israel’s systematic targeting of healthcare, which extends to the detention and torture of Dr Abu Safiya, hundreds of other Palestinian healthcare workers, and thousands of Palestinians. Collective mobilisations are needed to secure their release. The time to act is now, before it is too late.
References:
1 Amnesty International. Israel/Occupied Palestinian Territory: Release Paediatrician and Hospital Director: Dr Hussam Abu Safiya. 2025. https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde15/8923/2025/en/ (accessed 8 December 2025)
2 World Health Organization. Kamal Adwan Hospital out of service following a raid yesterday and repeated attacks since October. https://www.who.int/news/item/28-12-2024-kamal-adwan-hospital-out-of-ser… (accessed 9 December 2025)
3 Nader E, Hagan R. Israel confirms it is holding Gaza hospital chief Abu Safiya. BBC News. 2025. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj30deeggd7o (accessed 9 December 2025)
4 Al Jazeera. The Disappearance of Dr Abu Safiya. 2025. https://www.aljazeera.com/video/fault-lines/2025/9/18/the-disappearance-… (accessed 9 December 2025)
5 Holland L. Gazan doctor being held in ‘inhumane’ conditions in Israeli jail, says lawyer. Sky. 2025. https://news.sky.com/story/gazan-doctor-being-held-in-inhumane-condition… (accessed 9 December 2025)
6 Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt on X: ‘I officially ask EU leaders @vonderleyen and @kajakallas what demarches they have taken to set free Dr AbuSafiya and the other THOUSANDS Palestinian hostages who, like the Israeli hostages, have the sacrosaint right to return home.’ / X. X (formerly Twitter). https://x.com/FranceskAlbs/status/1959570270911386002 (accessed 13 December 2025)
7 UK Parliament. Detainment of Dr Hussam Abu Safiya. https://edm.parliament.uk/early-day-motion/62950/detainment-of-dr-hussam… (accessed 8 December 2025)
8 The Rights Forum. Support Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya for the Nobel Peace Prize. 2025. https://rightsforum.org/petitie/support-dr-abu-safiya-nobel-peace-prize/ (accessed 9 December 2025)
9 Addameer. Prisons as a Frontline of Genocide: Two Years of War Crimes Against Palestinian Political Detainees. 2025. https://addameer.ps/news/5618 (accessed 12 December 2025)
10 Healthcare Workers Watch. Released Gaza doctor describes torture and medical neglect in detention as Israel continues to incarcerate at least ninety-five Palestinian healthcare workers. 2025. https://healthcareworkerswatch.org/press-releases/released-gaza-doctor-d… (accessed 8 December 2025)
Competing interests: No competing interests
AI use: None declared
