●  Palestinian paediatrician · Held without charge

Free Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya

The director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza kept his patients alive under siege. Israel has imprisoned him without charge ever since — and his lawyer now says he is being beaten to death in an interrogation cell.

“This is the last time you will see me. They brought me here to kill me. I don’t see myself surviving. This is the end.”

Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya to his lawyer, as reported by Physicians for Human Rights–Israel · 2 July 2026
Detained for
— Days
— Hours
— Minutes
— Seconds

Since the raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital · 27 December 2024 · no charge, no trial.

Demand his release Read his story

Joining a global movement — 850,000+ have already signed for his release. This page turns that outrage into pressure on the people who can free him.

Behind: Dr. Abu Safiya’s walk toward Israeli forces as Kamal Adwan Hospital was raided — a moment witnessed around the world, 27 December 2024.

The emergency · 2 July 2026

His lawyer left the cell believing he had said goodbye.

According to a sworn account by his lawyer, Attorney Nasser Odeh, circulated by Physicians for Human Rights–Israel (PHRI), this is the condition Dr. Abu Safiya was found in during a legal visit at the Rakefet underground interrogation facility inside Nitzan Prison.

“This is the last time you will see me. They brought me here to kill me. I don’t see myself surviving. This is the end.”
— Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya to his lawyer, as reported by PHRI, 2 July 2026
  • Barely recognisable. Fresh, severe injuries to his head, eyes, ears and neck; brought to the meeting shackled hand and foot by masked guards.
  • Struggling to breathe. Extremely weak, unable to sit upright without falling, and repeatedly on the verge of losing consciousness.
  • “Assaulted with a hammer and batons.” He reported being attacked by prison guards after a Supreme Court hearing, then subjected to daily beatings since 24 June 2026.
  • No medical treatment. Multiple losses of consciousness, untreated — as his lawyer and PHRI appeal for an urgent independent medical examination and his transfer out of Rakefet.

These specific allegations come from Attorney Odeh’s account and PHRI’s urgent appeal. They have not been independently confirmed by Israeli authorities — which is precisely why an independent visit and medical examination cannot wait.

Who he is

He is the doctor who would not leave his patients.

Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya is a paediatrician and neonatologist who became director of Kamal Adwan Hospital — for a time the last major functioning health facility in northern Gaza. Through more than 80 days of siege and bombardment in late 2024, he kept the hospital running and repeatedly refused Israeli orders to evacuate while patients and newborns remained in his care.

The war had already taken his family. In late October 2024, his 15-year-old son Ibrahim was killed by an Israeli strike at the hospital. Dr. Abu Safiya buried his son and kept working.

On 27 December 2024, Israeli forces stormed Kamal Adwan and detained him. He was first taken to Sde Teiman — the military base notorious for the abuse of Palestinian detainees — and has since been moved repeatedly between prisons. In February 2025 he was placed under Israel’s “Unlawful Combatants” Law, which permits indefinite detention without charge or trial. To this day, no charge has ever been brought against him.

He is not alone. More than 430 Palestinian healthcare workers have been detained since October 2023; roughly 95 remain held, many without charge. Dr. Abu Safiya has become the face of a medical profession under attack.

How we got here

A pattern of escalation — the worst of it after he sought justice.

  1. Oct 2024

    His 15-year-old son Ibrahim is killed by an Israeli strike at Kamal Adwan Hospital. He continues to treat patients.

  2. 27 Dec 2024

    Israeli forces raid Kamal Adwan and detain Dr. Abu Safiya, forcing the hospital out of service. He is taken to Sde Teiman.

  3. Feb 2025

    He is designated an “unlawful combatant,” permitting detention without charge or trial.

  4. Mar 2026

    UN human-rights experts issue a fresh demand for his release, citing reports of “severe torture.”

  5. Apr 2026

    His administrative detention is extended again. Rights groups file a Supreme Court petition for the release of detained Gaza doctors.

  6. Jun 2026

    He is placed in solitary confinement; his lawyer describes it as punishment for challenging his detention.

  7. 2 Jul 2026

    Attorney Nasser Odeh visits Rakefet and documents life-threatening injuries. PHRI warns of imminent danger to his life.

  8. Now

    He is still there. Every second on the counter above is a second he remains in that cell without independent medical care.

What you can do — in the next five minutes

Pressure is the only thing that has ever moved his captors.

You do not need to be an expert, a diplomat, or a lawyer. In the five minutes it took to read his story, the campaign action below lets you fire off powerful, personalised emails, texts and phone calls — straight to the governments that claim to defend human rights, the medical bodies who should defend one of their own, and the Israeli officials holding him.

Every message is drafted for you and ready to send. Each one adds to the 850,000+ voices already demanding his freedom — and makes his silence in that cell harder for the world to ignore. Start now. It is the difference between speaking up and standing by.

● Take every action in one place

Emails, texts and phone calls — all in one place. Live campaign powered by the Words of Justice platform.

The pressure map

An international chain of responsibility.

The officials who hold him. The governments that can force his release. The medical world that must refuse to stay silent. Every name below has a role in whether Dr. Abu Safiya lives.

A The officials holding him — Israel

Kobi Yaakobi

Commissioner, Israel Prison Service

Operational control of Nitzan Prison and the Rakefet unit; can order his transfer and care today.

ips@mail.gov.il +972 8-977-6666

Gali Baharav-Miara

Attorney General of Israel

Can order an independent medical examination and intervene in life-threatening detention.

mancal@justice.gov.il 073-392-3461

Maj. Gen. Itai Ofir

IDF Military Advocate General

Legal authority over his classification and detention without charge.

Pazar@idf.il s.patzar@idf.il

B Governments that claim to defend human rights

Kaja Kallas

European Union · High Representative

EU-wide diplomatic weight; Israel values EU trade access. Can demand answers on a detained doctor.

@KajaKallas via EEAS

Johann Wadephul

Germany · Foreign Minister

Germany is Israel’s closest European ally, with real diplomatic and arms-export leverage.

via Auswärtiges Amt

Jean-Noël Barrot

France · Minister for Europe & Foreign Affairs

France mediates in the region and claims to champion human rights.

@francediplo_EN

Penny Wong

Australia · Foreign Minister

A key US ally, vocal on other human-rights issues; regional and diplomatic influence.

@SenatorWong

C The medical world must not stay silent

World Medical Association

Dr. Jacqueline Kitulu · President

The global federation of medical associations. The torture of a colleague demands its public intervention.

secretariat@wma.net

World Health Organization

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus · Director-General

Has already called for the release of Gaza doctors — and must escalate to emergency status.

@DrTedros

Int’l Committee of the Red Cross

Mirjana Spoljaric · President

Mandated by the Geneva Conventions to visit detainees — and reportedly denied access to him. It must demand entry now.

communication@icrc.org

Physicians for Human Rights–Israel

Naji Abbas · Prisoners & Detainees Dept.

Issued the urgent warning and holds the documentation. International support amplifies their voice.

intl.adv@phr.org.il

British Medical Association

United Kingdom · doctors’ union

Can press the UK government directly. His case should be an emergency priority.

bma.org.uk/contact

American Medical Association

Dr. Willie Underwood · President

The largest US medical association; its voice can shift the US government’s stance.

Willie.Underwood@ama-assn.org

You are not alone

A movement is already fighting for him.

This page stands alongside the campaigns, petitions and human-rights organisations that have kept Dr. Abu Safiya’s name alive. Add your voice to theirs.

850,000+ Sign the Avaaz petition “Free Dr Abu Safiya and all Palestinian medical staff.” freedrabusafiya.org The solidarity campaign & family-linked news hub. freedrabusafiya.com Campaign resources and ways to take action. Amnesty International Aotearoa “Free Doctor Hussam Abu Safiya” — take action. Front Line Defenders Human-rights defender profile & case documentation. The Guardian Solitary confinement, held without charge — reporting.

Sources & verification

Every claim here is sourced.

Background facts are drawn from major news organisations and human-rights bodies. The 2 July 2026 account is attributed throughout to Attorney Nasser Odeh and Physicians for Human Rights–Israel.