UN experts urge Israel to free Gaza doctor amid reports of ‘severe torture’
Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, former director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza, who has been detained by Israel since 27 December 2024
Al Jazeera reports on 12 March 2026:
United Nations experts are calling on Israel to immediately release Dr Hussam Abu Safia, warning that the Palestinian physician from Gaza has been subjected to “severe torture” and other abuses in Israeli detention.
In a statement on Tuesday, UN special rapporteurs Tlaleng Mofokeng and Ben Saul said they had received reports that Abu Safia’s health condition “remains dire”.
“He has been systematically denied critical medical examination and treatment, and deprived of essential care to such an extent that his life, health, and wellbeing have been gravely endangered,” they said.
Abu Safia, the former director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, was detained by Israeli forces in December 2024 amid Israel’s genocidal war against Palestinians in the coastal enclave. He was arrested after refusing to leave the hospital, which was the last functioning health facility in Gaza’s north, amid Israeli attacks.
Like many other detainees from the Gaza Strip, Israel has held Abu Safia without charge or trial, prompting widespread condemnation.