Israeli authorities have moved Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, into solitary confinement after holding him for more than 500 days without charge.
Abu Safiya, 53, was detained by Israeli forces on 27 December, 2024 while working at Kamal Adwan Hospital, which had continued operating through more than 80 days of siege and repeated Israeli attacks.
According to details first reported by The Guardian, Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI) received information that Abu Safiya had been transferred from Ketziot prison to Ramon prison, part of the Ganot prison complex, where he was placed in solitary confinement. PHRI said it had not been informed of the reason for the move.
His son, Elyas Abu Safiya, who is also a doctor, raised serious concerns about his father’s health, saying he still needs surgery to remove shrapnel lodged in his left thigh when he was detained. He said Abu Safiya continues to suffer from pain and swelling at the site of the wound.
Elyas said the family had been told that Abu Safiya is now being kept in “an extremely small solitary cell, no larger than one metre by one metre,” leaving him barely enough room to move or sit properly. During the early months of detention, he added, his father was not allowed to change his clothes and developed untreated skin conditions.
