Israeli courts reject 14 Gaza doctors’ release and exam for Husam Abu Safiya

Israel’s Supreme Court rejected the release of 14 Palestinian doctors from Gaza held without charge or trial, while Lod Central Court refused to allow an independent medical examination of Kamal Adwan Hospital director Husam Abu Safiya despite concerning signs in his medical file.

Israeli courts rejected a request to release 14 Palestinian doctors from the Gaza Strip who are being held without trial. They also rejected a request to subject Dr. Husam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip, to an independent medical examination, according to Physicians for Human Rights Israel.

In a statement, the association said: “The Supreme Court rejected a request to release 14 doctors, including hospital directors and specialist physicians.” It said the doctors are being held in Israeli prisons without charges being brought against them or a trial being conducted, with some detained for more than two years, while Gaza’s health sector suffers from a severe shortage of personnel.

قاعة جلسات في المحكمة العليا الإسرائيلية (أرشيف)

From 90 to 76 kilograms

The statement said Lod Central Court had not allowed an independent medical examination of Abu Safiya or the obtaining of a second medical opinion, despite concerning signs in his health records. According to the statement, Israeli professor Amit Tirosh, a specialist in internal medicine and endocrinology, reviewed Abu Safiya’s file at the Israeli Prison Service and found that his weight had fallen from 90 kilograms in January 2025 to 76 kilograms in May of the same year.

Tirosh also noted a decrease in the level of hemoglobin in his blood, the failure to conduct the necessary tests to determine the causes of the chest pain he reported, and a delay in diagnosing his scabies. Israeli Prison Service records dated July 5, 2026, noted bruising around his left eye, as well as dizziness and rib pain. Abu Safiya had told his lawyer that he had been beaten by prison guards.

Detained since the hospital raid

The association said the information in the medical file did not match the court’s conclusion that Abu Safiya suffered only from high blood pressure. It noted that he had been held in isolation with one other person since June 2026. The association rejected the Israeli justifications for refusing an independent examination, including his international ties and international solidarity campaigns calling for his release.

The Israeli army arrested Abu Safiya on December 27, 2024, during its raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital. On April 28, the Beersheba court extended his detention under the “Unlawful Combatants Law” without bringing any charges against him.

Photos: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0 and CC BY-SA 4.0; archive). Sources: Anadolu Agency, Physicians for Human Rights Israel.

Israeli courts reject 14 Gaza doctors’ release and exam for Husam Abu Safiya