Gaza – Prominent doctor at imminent risk of death following torture in Israeli prison 

PRESS RELEASE

6 July 2026

Geneva (LAW) –Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya is at imminent risk of death due to prolonged torture and mistreatment in Israeli detention. During a visit with his lawyer on Thursday, Dr. Abu Safiya bore fresh and severe injuries to his head, around his eyes, and to his ears and neck, to the extent that he was initially difficult to recognise. 

“Dr. Abu Safiya experienced significant difficulty breathing, appeared extremely weak, and struggled to remain seated without falling. He was clearly fearful of speaking openly because of concerns about further reprisals,” his lawyer, Nasser Odeh, told Legal Action Worldwide (LAW) on Sunday, 5 July. 

Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, Director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, has been detained without charge for over 500 days by Israeli authorities. On 24 June 2026, following the rejection of his appeal to the Supreme Court of Israel challenging his continued and unlawful detention, Dr. Abu Safiya was placed in solitary confinement at Ganot Prison and shortly after transferred to the underground Rakefet interrogation facility in Nitzan.

Immediately after returning from court, five Israeli Prison Service guards entered his solitary confinement cell and severely assaulted him. The mistreatment has continued and intensified at Rakefet.  

We have had no direct news of him since Thursday, 2 July. In total, 14 doctors from Gaza are being illegally detained by Israel. 

In early June, LAW, which represents Dr. Abu Safiya and other medical professionals in international legal proceedings, reported that he was being denied adequate medical care and was not provided with his prescription glasses or medication. Despite his fresh wounds sustained in detention, Dr. Abu Safiya continues to be denied medical care. 

“Dr. Abu Safiya is being tortured. He risks dying. We are past prevention, and decisive action must be taken immediately to save his life,” said Antonia Mulvey, LAW’s Executive Director. “By detaining and mistreating Dr. Abu Safiya, Israeli authorities are simultaneously breaching international humanitarian law and international human rights law. What more than the fresh, visible wounds on the face of an illegally detained doctor held in solitary confinement is needed for Member States to act and stop further harm?” 

We demand that: 

• Dr. Abu Safiya be urgently examined and treated by an independent medical professional. 

• The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) be granted full access in accordance with its mandate and the Israeli Supreme Court’s 3 June 2026 ruling that the Israeli Government’s policy of blanket refusal of ICRC access to detention sites was incompatible with its international legal obligations . 

• All medical professionals held without charge be immediately released. 

The doctor’s legal team has filed an emergency application before the Israeli courts and is in close contact with diplomats, the United Nations, and the European Union to ensure that everything possible is done to save his life. 

For more information, please contact: 

Lucien Christen, Global Communications Manager, [email protected], +41765343816