Dr. Abu Safiya doctor is being held in an underground cell, deprived of sunlight, while he endures starvation and torture, his lawyer said in a statement.
Detained Gaza doctor Hussam Abu Safiya has suffered severe beatings in Israeli detention in addition to being denied medical care despite suffering from an irregular heartbeat, according to his lawyer.
In a statement on Monday, Ghaida Qasem, said Dr. Abu Safiya has lost over 40 kilograms since his detention by Israeli forces in December last year from the Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gaza.
At the time of his abduction, he weighed 100 kg, but currently weighs 60 kg, Qasem said.
Lawyer of Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya, currently imprisoned by Israel, wrote:
Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya is not okay.
My last visit to him was on July 9, 2025.
He has lost over 40 kilograms — more than one-third of his body weight.
At the time of his arrest, he weighed 100 kg — today, he… pic.twitter.com/UElaH9ANi6— Ramy Abdu| رامي عبده (@RamAbdu) July 14, 2025
On June 24, he was subjected to severe beatings that lasted around half an hour, targeting his chest, face, head and neck.
Israeli authorities have “denied him essential medication, treatment, and access to a specialist doctor, despite his suffering from an irregular heartbeat.”
Held in “an underground cell deprived of sunlight,” the statement noted, Dr. Abu Safiya “remains in winter clothing,” while enduring “starvation, torture, and isolation.”
Dedicated Physician
Dr. Abu Safiya, a specialist in pediatrics and neonatology and the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, was abducted along with other medical staff and patients after Israeli forces laid siege to the hospital before raiding it. Under his leadership, staff provided care to patients under relentless bombardment and amid dire shortages of medicine, equipment, and electricity.
For months, he had appealed to the world, including the UN, to intervene in ending Israel’s ongoing assault on the enclave. His son was killed by the Israeli army in October 2024.
‘He Chose to Stay’: Wife of Detained Doctor Abu Safiya Calls for International Action
In an interview with Al Jazeera last week, his wife, Lina Abu Safiya, described her husband as a dedicated physician who refused to leave his patients, despite being offered a rare opportunity to escape the besieged enclave.
“He could have joined me in Kazakhstan,” Lina said, referring to her country of origin, “but he told me he could not abandon his patients or his colleagues. He believed leaving would be a betrayal of his duty.”
Up to 360 health workers have been detained since Israel’s military operation in Gaza in October 2023, according to medical sources cited by the official Palestinian news agency WAFA. These include doctors with medical expertise and important specialties, which patients and the wounded have been denied, the report stated.
Dr. Abu Safiya Held in ‘Inhumane Conditions,’ Subjected to Torture in Israeli Detention
Over 57,000 Killed
Since Israel’s reneging on the ceasefire on March 18, it has killed and wounded thousands of Palestinians throughout the Gaza Strip through a bloody and ongoing aerial bombardment.
On October 7, 2023, following a Palestinian Resistance operation in southern Israel, the Israeli military launched a genocidal war against the Palestinians, killing over 57,000, wounding more than 137,000, with over 14,000 still missing.
Israeli occupation forces carried out widespread destruction across the Gaza Strip overnight and into Monday morning, targeting homes and residential buildings, particularly in Khan Yunis in the south and Jabaliya, in the north.https://t.co/uUnrS1cBYH pic.twitter.com/RxOsnAAS0V
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) July 14, 2025
Despite habitual condemnation by many countries around the world of the Israeli genocide, little has been done to hold Israel accountable.
Israel is currently under investigation for the crime of genocide by the International Court of Justice, while accused war criminals — including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — are now officially wanted by the International Criminal Court.
The Israeli genocide has been largely defended, supported, and financed by Washington and a few other Western powers.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
Dr. Abu Safiya is a hero, and political prisoner facing inhumane treatment at the hands of a racist ethnostate.
May he gain access to direly needed medical treatment, freedom from unjust detention, and eventually justice for his captors.
And as always, for the kids and for all humanity, Free Palestine from the Knesset to the Hague, river to the Sea ✌️❤️🍉