Elyas Abu Safia, son of Dr. Hussam Abu Safia, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza, made an urgent call for the release of his father, who has been held in an Israeli prison for 555 days, saying his health has seriously deteriorated.
In a video message released on Sunday, Elyas Abu Safia said his father showed severe signs of torture after being placed in solitary confinement in a maximum-security prison by Israeli authorities.
Elyas, who is also a doctor, said that lawyer Nasser Odeh visited his father on July 2 and relayed painful details from that visit. "My father could not breathe. My father could not speak. His face was unrecognizable from the marks of torture and pain, especially from the blood and suffering he endured in prison after the last court session in Jerusalem," he said.
Israeli forces arrested Dr. Abu Safia on December 27, 2024, while he was on duty, as they intensified attacks on the healthcare system in northern Gaza. Two months earlier, another of the doctor's sons, Ibrahim, was killed in an Israeli drone strike at the entrance of the hospital where he worked.
Elyas accused Arab and Muslim leaders of abandoning his father. "Since the beginning of the arrest, you have withheld even your voice, solidarity, and support. Your silence is a betrayal, a crime, and complicity in the torture of my father and the hostages in Israeli prisons," he said.
The Physicians for Human Rights organization in Israel warned that Abu Safia's life is in immediate danger after his transfer to the Rakefet section of Nitzan Prison. The organization reported that during the visit, lawyer Odeh saw the doctor with his hands and feet bound, surrounded by masked guards, and fresh bruises and wounds on his head, around his eyes, ears, and neck. The injuries were so severe that the lawyer had difficulty recognizing him.
Naji Abbas, director of the organization's Prisoners and Detainees Department, told the official Palestinian news agency Wafa, "The information we have received raises serious and urgent concerns about Abu Safia's life. The lawyer's testimony is one of the most shocking accounts we have heard since the beginning of the war: a man held without charge tells his lawyer he believes they will kill him; he arrived at the visit injured, short of breath, and on the verge of losing consciousness."
Israeli authorities have not charged Abu Safia with any crime. They classified him as an "unlawful combatant," a designation Israel uses to hold Palestinians for extended periods without trial. Physicians for Human Rights demanded the release of Abu Safia and other detained Palestinian doctors. In March, United Nations experts also called on Israel to immediately release Abu Safia and ensure he receives medical care. Dr. Abu Safia is one of 14 Gazan doctors currently held by Israel without charge.
