Lawyer: Critical of imprisoned Palestinian doctor

TT

Updated 15.53 | Published 15.08

 

Poster during a demonstration in January 2025 to release doctor Hussam Abu Safiya. Photo: Matias Delacroix/AP/TT

A well-known Palestinian doctor has been abused in Israeli captivity and is in critical condition, his lawyer says.

53-year-old Hussam Abu Safiya became a symbol of the efforts of healthcare workers to treat patients during the war, including by publishing videos with pleas for help.

He was the head of a hospital in the northern Gaza Strip when he was arrested in December 2024.

He has still not been charged with a crime, but the Israeli military claims that the doctor has ties to the Hamas movement, which is labeled a terrorist organization by Israel and others.

Lawyer Nasser Odeh is now reporting that the doctor was extremely weak and had difficulty sitting up during a visit on Thursday. He also reportedly had fresh injuries to his eyes, ears and neck, as well as difficulty breathing.

The Israeli Correctional Service has called the reports of abuse against the doctor “false and completely without factual basis.”