Detained Gaza doctor ‘suffering from critical health conditions’, family says
The family of Hussam Abu Safia, who has been detained by Israel since December, says the doctor has lost 30kg (66 pounds) and is “suffering from critical health conditions”.
His son, Elias, told the Palestinian Information Center that the doctor is enduring “harsh and catastrophic” conditions in the Israeli jail and has been deprived of medication and is being subjected to inhumane treatment.
Abu Safia was awarded the 2025 Nizar Banat Award for human rights defenders by the Palestinian group Lawyers for Justice on Monday.
Amnesty, HRW, MSF and other NGOs urge Israel to release Palestinian health workers
The group of 25 rights organisations are demanding an end to Israel’s arbitrary detention of healthcare workers in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
“At least 185 healthcare workers from Gaza and the West Bank were estimated to be in Israeli detention as of February 2025,” the group said in a statement. “The conditions of many of those still detained remain unknown. Many of those released have reported severe abuse, while some have died in custody.”
The detentions are part of a wider assault on Gaza’s health system, the NGOs said.
“Since October 2023, there have been around 700 attacks on health, including aerial bombardments of hospitals, health clinics and ambulances. Over 1,500 health workers and 460 aid workers have been killed.”
