By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

Israeli forces have confirmed the detention of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, with grave concerns for his health and safety amid reports of torture.

The Israeli army has confirmed that the director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital, Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, is in their custody after being “apprehended for suspected involvement in terrorist activities,” the US channel, ABC News, reported on Friday.

According to ABC News, the army claimed that Dr. Abu Safiya is “currently being investigated by Israeli security forces”  and he is detained “for holding a rank in the Hamas terror organization.”

Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya's wife, Albina, spoke to AJ+ Arabi, expressing her anguish over her husband’s abduction by Israeli forces. She shared the immense struggles her family is facing, including the trauma of their son's death and the uncertainty surrounding Dr. Hussam’s fate.… pic.twitter.com/bX6tbddF5w

— Translating Falasteen (Palestine) (@translatingpal) January 3, 2025

Notorious Sde Teiman

According to the Israeli i24 news channel, Dr. Abu Safiya is being held at the notorious Sde Teiman detention center in southern Israel. It quoted an Israeli army spokesman as claiming that the doctor is under investigation by the Shin Bet on suspicion of his relationship with Hamas.

Horrific human rights violations at the Sde Teiman facility, including torture, sexual assault and rape against Palestinian detainees, have been widely documented. In August last year, leaked footage from surveillance cameras captured a detainee being raped. He subsequently died of his injuries.

‘Something You Can’t Imagine’ – Israeli Doctor Recounts Horrors at Sde Teiman

The confirmation of Dr. Abu Safiya’s detention by Israel follows a report from Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI) on Thursday, which said it had submitted a request on behalf of Dr. Abu Safiya’s family to obtain information and facilitate a lawyer’s visit on January 2, 2025.

The Israeli army had however denied he was in their custody, PHRI said, noting that “despite clear documentation of his arrest, the army officially stated that it has no indication of the arrest or detention” of the doctor,

‘Risk to His Life’

On Friday, the Geneva-based Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor said it had received information that the health of Dr. Abu Safiya has deteriorated due to the torture he has endured during his detention, particularly while being held at the Sde Teiman detention center.

“Euro-Med Monitor warns of the grave risk to his life, following patterns of deliberate killings and deaths under torture previously suffered by other doctors and medical staff arrested from Gaza since October 2023,” the organization said in a statement on Friday.

Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya's life in danger due to torture: Immediate international intervention needed for his release https://t.co/sTorWRWepK

— Euro-Med Monitor (@EuroMedHR) January 3, 2025

Dr. Abu Safiya was detained along with fellow staff members and others on December 27 last year following the Israeli army’s days-long siege of the hospital.

Euro-Med Monitor said it “has documented testimonies confirming that Israeli soldiers physically assaulted Dr. Abu Safiya immediately after he left the hospital,” adding that he was “directly targeted with sound bombs while attempting to evacuate the hospital in compliance with orders from the Israeli army.”

‘Severe Beatings’

According to testimonies gathered by the rights group, the Israeli army subsequently transferred Dr. Abu Safiya to a field interrogation site in the Al-Fakhura area of Jabaliya Refugee Camp.

“There, he was forced to strip off his clothes and was subjected to severe beatings, including being whipped with a thick wire commonly used for street electrical wiring,” Euro-Med Monitor stated.

Using civilians as human shields, forcing women and girls to strip, and hitting a pregnant woman in the abdomen… A child survivor of the Israeli army's storming of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern #Gaza speaks to Euro-Med Monitor's team. pic.twitter.com/4d0ZyrH0QP

— Euro-Med Monitor (@EuroMedHR) January 2, 2025

Israeli soldiers “deliberately humiliated him in front of other detainees, including fellow medical staff.”

The doctor was later “taken to an undisclosed location” before being transferred to the Sde Teiman military camp under Israeli army control, it said.

The organization said it has also received information from recently released detainees at the Sde Teiman, “confirming that Dr. Abu Safiya was subjected to severe torture, leading to a significant deterioration in his health.”

This occurred despite him already being injured by Israeli air strikes on the hospital, “where he worked tirelessly until the facility was stormed and set ablaze by Israeli forces,” it noted.

Euro-Med Monitor said the Israeli army has “attempted to mislead the public” regarding Dr. Abu Safiya’s condition with “pro-Israeli media outlets” circulating a “misleading promotional video portraying his treatment as humane, even though he was tortured and humiliated immediately after filming.”

Same Fate as Others

Euro-Med Monitor said it was deeply concerned that Dr. Abu Safiya “may face execution during his detention, similar to the fate of Dr. Adnan Al-Bursh, head of the orthopedics department at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.

Dr Al-Bursh, the organization pointed out, “was killed under torture at Ofer Detention Centre on 19 April 2024.” He had been detained along with colleagues from Al-Awda Hospital in December 2023.

Palestinian Doctors, Hospitals and Health Care Workers are Primary Israeli Military Targets in Gaza

This is similar to the fate of Dr. Iyad Al-Rantisi, head of the obstetrics department at Kamal Adwan Hospital, “who was killed due to torture at an Israeli Shin Bet interrogation center in Ashkelon, one week after his detention in November 2023.”

Israeli authorities “concealed his death for more than seven months,” said Euro-Med Monitor.

‘Deliberate Destruction’ Strategy

The detention of Dr. Abu Safiya, the rights body said, “must be understood within the context of Israel’s ongoing genocide” in Gaza, which has persisted for nearly 15 months.

“His arrest, torture, and potential execution form part of a broader strategy aimed at destroying the Palestinian people in Gaza—both physically and psychologically—and breaking their will,” said the organization.

Kamal Adwan Aggression: What Lies Behind Israel’s War on Gaza Hospitals?

This strategy “includes not only the deliberate destruction of the health sector and the disruption of medical staff operations, particularly in northern Gaza, but also an attack on the symbolic and humanitarian role represented by Dr. Abu Safiya,” it emphasized.

Despite “the grave crimes” committed against Kamal Adwan Hospital, its staff, and patients, especially in the past two months, said Euro-Med Monitor “Dr. Abu Safiya remained unwavering in his dedication to providing essential medical care and fulfilling his medical duties.”

Call for UN Rapporteur’s Dismissal

The organization called on “all concerned states, international entities, and UN bodies to take immediate and effective measures to secure the unconditional release of Dr. Abu Safiya.”

“His fundamental rights to life, physical safety, and dignity must be protected, shielding him from torture or any cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment,” said Euro-Med Monitor.

The organization reiterated its call for the United Nations “to deploy an international investigative mission to examine the grave crimes and violations faced by Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons.”

Euro-Med Monitor called for the dismissal of Alice Jill Edwards, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, saying she has “failed to address these atrocities.”

(The Palestine Chronicle)