2 January 2025
IOF denies detaining Dr Hussam Abu Safiyeh
This morning, the IDF informed Physicians for Human Rights - Israel (PHRI) that they have no record of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiyeh’s detention.
The response came after PHRI, acting on behalf of the doctor’s family, requested information to facilitate a lawyer’s visit on 2 January at the Sde Teiman detention facility, where Dr. Hussam Abu Safiyeh is believed to be held. However, his presence at Sde Teiman prison has been confirmed by released prisoner Yahya Zaqqout, who reported hearing Dr. Abu Safiyeh’s name during morning roll call.
CNN corroborated the story through accounts from released prisoners Ahmad Al-Sayyed Saleem and Alaa Abu Banat, who were detained by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) at a checkpoint in northern Gaza and released on 29 December 2024. Both prisoners described inhumane conditions at Sde Teiman, including freezing temperatures, systematic punishment, and confinement in cages resembling those used for animals. Each detainee was reportedly provided only one blanket, with no mattress.
The CNN interview was filmed at the European Hospital in central Gaza, where some released prisoners were taken via the Karam Abu Salem crossing. In a video released on 30 December 2024, Dr. Hussam Abu Safiyeh’s son issued an urgent plea to the international community to act immediately for his father’s release. He stated:
“Detained by Israeli occupation forces while performing his humanitarian duty, he now suffers severe mistreatment in Sde Teiman detention centre, including humiliation, exposure to freezing cold, and denial of medical care. Dr. Hussam continued to serve his people with unwavering dedication. Our entire family holds Kazakhstani citizenship, and we call on the Kazakhstani government, international organisations like WHO and MedGlobal, and all foreign governments to intervene and secure his release before it is too late.”
Dr. Hussam’s hospital endured over 80 days of intense attacks by the IOF. In October 2024, the Israeli military ordered the evacuation of Kamal Adwan Hospital. Dr. Abu Safiyeh refused, citing his duty to care for his patients. Following his refusal, Israeli forces stormed the hospital, detaining staff and patients. During the assault, an Israeli drone killed his son, Ibrahim, at the hospital entrance. Despite his grief, Dr. Abu Safiyeh led the funeral prayers for his son in the hospital courtyard.
In November 2024, an Israeli drone strike injured Dr. Abu Safiyeh with shrapnel wounds. He continued to work despite his injuries, saying, “I was injured at my workplace, and that is an honour. My blood is no more precious than that of my colleagues or the people we serve.”
On 28 December 2024, Israeli forces raided Kamal Adwan Hospital again, burning parts of the hospital, forcibly evacuating staff and patients, and detaining Dr. Abu Safiyeh. Witnesses report that IOF personnel whipped Dr. Hussam with Norwegian wire and mocked his dirty clothes before detaining him. The World Health Organization lost contact with him following the raid.
Concerns for Dr. Hussam, his colleagues, and patients remain acute. In December 2023, the head of orthopaedics at Gaza’s al-Shifa Hospital, Dr. Adnan Al-Bursh, was similarly detained by the Israeli army. Four months later, he died in Ofer Prison under circumstances described as inhumane, following alleged physical abuse and neglect.
The detention of healthcare workers like Dr. Hussam and Dr. Al-Bursh has been criticised by organisations such as Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI) and Human Rights Watch (HRW). Reports indicate healthcare workers endure severe mistreatment, including stress positions, withholding of food and water, and sexual violence. Since October 2023, the Palestinian Health Ministry reports that at least 310 healthcare workers have been detained by Israel.
Accounts of torture and abuse in Israeli prisons, particularly after the appointment of Itamar Ben-Gvir as national security minister in 2022, have surged.
Responding to accusations of overcrowding from the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security agency in July, Ben-Gvir boasted of the abominable conditions in his prison systems, writing on X: “Since I assumed the position of minister of national security, one of the highest goals I have set for myself is to worsen the conditions of the terrorists in the prisons and to reduce their rights to the minimum required by law."
Earlier the same week, he released a video saying: “Prisoners should be shot in the head instead of being given more food."
“It was bad, it’s always been bad,” Abbas told Al Jazeera, “But things became really serious after Ben-Gvir’s appointment. Since October, it’s been like another world. It’s been horrifying.
“Before the war, there were hundreds of Palestinian prisoners with chronic diseases. Now there are thousands more people in detention, which means many more with chronic conditions, who are going untreated."
In July, following arrests of Israeli soldiers accused of systematic torture and rape at the Sde Teiman detention facility, Israeli protesters – elected politicians among them – stormed Sde Teiman and the nearby Beit Lid base demanding the release of the arrested soldiers.
Writing to Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu afterwards, Ben-Gvir decried the soldiers’ arrest for rape and torture as “shameful”, saying of conditions in his prison system: “The summer camps and patience for the terrorists are over."
Under his policies, detainees reportedly endure extreme overcrowding, lack of medical care, and violent treatment, with conditions described as a “network of torture camps” by Israeli rights group B’Tselem.
Despite international condemnation, Dr. Hussam Abu Safiyeh remains in extreme danger under barbaric conditions that continue to raise grave concerns amongst human rights organisations.