Medical review raises alarm over Gaza hospital director held by Israel without charge

An independent medical specialist has raised serious concerns about the health of Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of northern Gaza’s Kamal Adwan hospital, who has spent nearly 23 months in Israeli detention without charge. Prof Amit Tirosh reviewed medical records obtained by Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI) and identified problems he said had not been adequately investigated or treated.

Abu Safiya was detained while working on 27 December 2024 and was subsequently placed in solitary confinement at Rakefet, an underground prison. During a lawyer’s visit for PHRI this summer, he described severe shortages of food, harsh conditions and medical problems that had gone untreated. Witnesses said his appearance had changed so dramatically that he was barely recognisable. His family have been unable to communicate with him directly.

Israel’s supreme court rejected a petition seeking his release last month. Over the weekend, a district court also refused a request for an independent medical examination. Abu Safiya was designated an “unlawful combatant”, alongside more than 375 medical workers, under a classification Israel has used to justify extended detention without trial.

According to Tirosh, Abu Safiya’s recorded weight declined from 90kg in January 2025 to 76kg in May 2026. The specialist also highlighted chest pain that had not been sufficiently investigated, delayed treatment for scabies and falling haemoglobin levels requiring further examination. One prison doctor had described weight loss as common among security prisoners because of their diet, a response Tirosh said showed a troubling lack of concern.

Tirosh said the haemoglobin decline occurred between February and July 2026, well after the weight loss, and coincided with reported beatings at Rakefet. He said detention or starvation alone could not explain the change and warned that blood loss could be life-threatening and required urgent emergency assessment. July records noted bruising near an eye, dizziness and rib pain. Abu Safiya told his lawyers that guards had beaten him, but Tirosh said the records offered no explanation for the injuries.

The district court’s decision disclosed Israeli authorities’ allegations that Abu Safiya had overstated his health problems, established organisations while imprisoned, influenced fellow prisoners and maintained international contacts. PHRI said those allegations provided no justification for withholding an independent examination, which it described as a legally protected right. Tirosh called for an outside specialist to examine both the doctor and his complete medical file.

Before his detention, Abu Safiya had become a prominent figure among Gaza’s medical workers struggling to care for patients during the war. He helped sustain hospital operations through more than 80 days of siege and attacks by Israeli forces during an intensive operation in the surrounding refugee camp. PHRI’s Naji Abbas said 14 Palestinian doctors, including hospital directors and specialists, remained imprisoned without charge or trial while Gaza urgently needed their services.

A spokesperson for the Israeli prison service told the Guardian that the allegations formed part of a campaign to discredit Israel. The spokesperson said the service “operates in accordance with the law and under constant judicial oversight”.