'Where the Hell Is Doctor Hussam?' Israel Gives Mixed Messages on Gaza Hospital Director
"To suggest he isn't in custody is an insult to the public's intelligence," said Dr. Muhammad Brika, his colleague at Kamal Adwan Hospital.
Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, is treated by colleagues for his injuries following an Israeli strike on November 23, 2024.
(Photo: AFP via Getty Images)
Jessica Corbett
Jan 03, 2025
COMMON DREAMS
Israeli officials this week have given a human rights group and news media conflicting messages about Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza who was detained when Israel's troops attacked the facility a week ago.
Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI) contacted Mashlat—the Israeli body responsible for coordinating with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) regarding the location of detainees from the Gaza Strip—on behalf of Abu Safiya's family.
On Thursday, PHRI shared on social media a screenshot of Mashlat's email claiming to have "no indication of the arrest or detention of the individual in question," which contradicts the IDF's Friday statement to CNN.
"On December 27, 2024, military forces raided Kamal Adwan Hospital, surrounded the building, and arrested Dr. Abu Safiya," PHRI detailed in the social media thread. "In a video recording, the senior doctor is seen walking toward an armored military vehicle and is taken from there for interrogation."
That same day, an Israeli spokesperson "confirmed that he was arrested and transferred for questioning, but since then, his whereabouts have entirely vanished," the group noted. "Unfortunately, the court gave the state one week to respond regarding the hospital director's location."
Following the email to PHRI, CNN reported Friday:
The IDF has since told CNN that Dr. Abu Safiya "was apprehended for suspected involvement in terrorist activities, and for holding a rank in the Hamas terror organization, while hundreds of Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists were hiding inside the Kamal Adwan Hospital under his management. He is currently being investigated by Israeli security forces."
It made similar allegations about the hospital and its director around the time of the raid on the facility, without providing evidence for the claims.
While decimating Gaza hospitals and other civilian infrastructure—and killing at least 45,658 Palestinians—since October 2023, the IDF has repeatedly accused those killed and detained of ties to militant groups, often without sharing any evidence.
Citing recently released former detainees, CNNreported Monday that Abu Safiya was among the medical professionals being held at Israel's notorious Sde Teiman military base in the Negev Desert, but his location has not been publicly confirmed as of Friday.
PHRI on Friday circulated comments from Dr. Muhammad Brika, Abu Safiya's colleague at Kamal Adwan Hospital, who said: "To suggest he isn't in custody is an insult to the public's intelligence. The events we experienced were very clear."
"We remained at Kamal Adwan until the very end, until the military invaded the hospital," Brika continued, recalling the attack. "Dr. Abu Safiya was there the entire time. The image shown in the media, where he appears to be led towards the tank, does not reflect the reality of his arrest... Many details haven't been made public, and the truth is far different from the narrative they've tried to create."
"That same day, around 10:00 pm, we were forcibly transported to Al-Fakhoora school, with Dr. Abu Safiya up front," the doctor explained. "Upon arrival, we were treated horribly—forced to strip down to our underwear and left standing in the freezing cold. This continued until 1:30 am, during which Dr. Abu Safiya was taken into the school, either for interrogation or to give testimony. It's unclear what exactly was happening."
Abu Safiya was then brought back to the rest of the hospital workers, according to Brika. Israeli officers "told us one group would be arrested while the other would be allowed to leave the school," the doctor said. "At the last moment, they called Dr. Abu Safiya back and dressed him in white prison clothes in front of the entire medical staff. He was then formally arrested and taken into their custody, while the rest of us were allowed to leave."
People worldwide have sounded the alarm over officials' mixed messages about the missing hospital director—including Amnesty International Secretary General Agnès Callamard, who on Thursday urged Israeli authorities to "urgently disclose" his location and said that he should be considered a victim of enforced disappearance, "and as such at great risk of torture and ill-treatment."
Following CNN's Friday reporting, Callamard reiterated her call for Abu Safiya's release. She also highlighted how, under his leadership, the Gaza hospital "played an indispensable role in treating children suffering from malnutrition and dehydration-related issues," and "received those wounded from a series of Israeli attacks on starving people as they waited for flour trucks, known as flour massacres.
From last February to October, Callamard said, "Dr. Abu Safiya was the go-to source for human rights and humanitarian organizations investigating the situation of the healthcare sector in north Gaza and the impact of the mixture of disease and hunger on children in particular, providing accurate, nonsensationalist, and credible information, coordinating with international health organizations, providing media briefings, all whilst obviously working as a dedicated pediatrician."
The human rights leader further emphasized that the IDF's unsubstantiated allegations about the hospital director and Hamas are relatively recent. She asserted that "Dr. Abu Safiya's unlawful detention is emblematic of the broader attacks on the healthcare sector in Gaza and Israel's attempts to annihilate it. It is part and parcel of Israel's genocidal intent and genocidal acts—meant to inflict conditions of life CALCULATED TO BRING ABOUT DESTRUCTION OF PALESTINIANS."
"Dr. Abu Safiya has been acting as a leading voice for the healthcare sector in the north of Gaza since October 2024 and refusing to abandon the hospital and his patients," Callamard noted. "He has stood against Israel's genocidal act and his arrest along with that of [hundreds] of Palestinian medical staff further provides evidence of genocidal intent."
"None of the medical staff abducted by Israeli forces since November 2023 from Gaza during raids on hospitals and clinics has been charged or put before a trial; those released after enduring unimaginable torture were never charged and did not stand trial," she added. "Those still detained remain held without charges or trial under inhumane conditions and at risk of torture."
According to PHRI, "Since October 2023, Israel has arrested thousands of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, including 230 doctors."
"The whereabouts and fate of many remain unknown, and requests for their location remain unanswered for many months," the group said Thursday. "In some cases, only thanks to the persistence of human rights organizations, information has been provided regarding the whereabouts of some of the missing. In some cases, it was revealed that the missing individuals died while in military or prison service custody."
Drop Site Newsreported Friday that the IDF ordered the "evacuation of al-Awda Hospital in north Gaza, warning that those who remain by 3:00 pm will face death or bombing," and pointed out that "around 65 healthcare workers and 30 patients are currently at the hospital."
In a Friday statement, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy group in the United States, demanded action from the U.S. government, which has given Israel billions of dollars in weapons support as it has waged an assault on Gaza that's led to a genocide case at the International Court of Justice.
"The Biden administration, which is a full partner in Israel's genocide, must act to secure the release of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya and to end the far-right Israeli government's systematic assault on hospitals and medical personnel in Gaza," said CAIR. "Israeli attacks on medical facilities, its daily slaughter of Palestinian civilians, and its forced starvation of an entire population are clearly part of the overall genocidal campaign of ethnic cleansing in Gaza."
"To suggest he isn't in custody is an insult to the public's intelligence," said Dr. Muhammad Brika, his colleague at Kamal Adwan Hospital.
Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, is treated by colleagues for his injuries following an Israeli strike on November 23, 2024.
(Photo: AFP via Getty Images)
Jessica Corbett
Jan 03, 2025
COMMON DREAMS
Israeli officials this week have given a human rights group and news media conflicting messages about Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza who was detained when Israel's troops attacked the facility a week ago.
Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI) contacted Mashlat—the Israeli body responsible for coordinating with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) regarding the location of detainees from the Gaza Strip—on behalf of Abu Safiya's family.
On Thursday, PHRI shared on social media a screenshot of Mashlat's email claiming to have "no indication of the arrest or detention of the individual in question," which contradicts the IDF's Friday statement to CNN.
"On December 27, 2024, military forces raided Kamal Adwan Hospital, surrounded the building, and arrested Dr. Abu Safiya," PHRI detailed in the social media thread. "In a video recording, the senior doctor is seen walking toward an armored military vehicle and is taken from there for interrogation."
That same day, an Israeli spokesperson "confirmed that he was arrested and transferred for questioning, but since then, his whereabouts have entirely vanished," the group noted. "Unfortunately, the court gave the state one week to respond regarding the hospital director's location."
Following the email to PHRI, CNN reported Friday:
The IDF has since told CNN that Dr. Abu Safiya "was apprehended for suspected involvement in terrorist activities, and for holding a rank in the Hamas terror organization, while hundreds of Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists were hiding inside the Kamal Adwan Hospital under his management. He is currently being investigated by Israeli security forces."
It made similar allegations about the hospital and its director around the time of the raid on the facility, without providing evidence for the claims.
While decimating Gaza hospitals and other civilian infrastructure—and killing at least 45,658 Palestinians—since October 2023, the IDF has repeatedly accused those killed and detained of ties to militant groups, often without sharing any evidence.
Citing recently released former detainees, CNNreported Monday that Abu Safiya was among the medical professionals being held at Israel's notorious Sde Teiman military base in the Negev Desert, but his location has not been publicly confirmed as of Friday.
PHRI on Friday circulated comments from Dr. Muhammad Brika, Abu Safiya's colleague at Kamal Adwan Hospital, who said: "To suggest he isn't in custody is an insult to the public's intelligence. The events we experienced were very clear."
"We remained at Kamal Adwan until the very end, until the military invaded the hospital," Brika continued, recalling the attack. "Dr. Abu Safiya was there the entire time. The image shown in the media, where he appears to be led towards the tank, does not reflect the reality of his arrest... Many details haven't been made public, and the truth is far different from the narrative they've tried to create."
"That same day, around 10:00 pm, we were forcibly transported to Al-Fakhoora school, with Dr. Abu Safiya up front," the doctor explained. "Upon arrival, we were treated horribly—forced to strip down to our underwear and left standing in the freezing cold. This continued until 1:30 am, during which Dr. Abu Safiya was taken into the school, either for interrogation or to give testimony. It's unclear what exactly was happening."
Abu Safiya was then brought back to the rest of the hospital workers, according to Brika. Israeli officers "told us one group would be arrested while the other would be allowed to leave the school," the doctor said. "At the last moment, they called Dr. Abu Safiya back and dressed him in white prison clothes in front of the entire medical staff. He was then formally arrested and taken into their custody, while the rest of us were allowed to leave."
People worldwide have sounded the alarm over officials' mixed messages about the missing hospital director—including Amnesty International Secretary General Agnès Callamard, who on Thursday urged Israeli authorities to "urgently disclose" his location and said that he should be considered a victim of enforced disappearance, "and as such at great risk of torture and ill-treatment."
Following CNN's Friday reporting, Callamard reiterated her call for Abu Safiya's release. She also highlighted how, under his leadership, the Gaza hospital "played an indispensable role in treating children suffering from malnutrition and dehydration-related issues," and "received those wounded from a series of Israeli attacks on starving people as they waited for flour trucks, known as flour massacres.
From last February to October, Callamard said, "Dr. Abu Safiya was the go-to source for human rights and humanitarian organizations investigating the situation of the healthcare sector in north Gaza and the impact of the mixture of disease and hunger on children in particular, providing accurate, nonsensationalist, and credible information, coordinating with international health organizations, providing media briefings, all whilst obviously working as a dedicated pediatrician."
The human rights leader further emphasized that the IDF's unsubstantiated allegations about the hospital director and Hamas are relatively recent. She asserted that "Dr. Abu Safiya's unlawful detention is emblematic of the broader attacks on the healthcare sector in Gaza and Israel's attempts to annihilate it. It is part and parcel of Israel's genocidal intent and genocidal acts—meant to inflict conditions of life CALCULATED TO BRING ABOUT DESTRUCTION OF PALESTINIANS."
"Dr. Abu Safiya has been acting as a leading voice for the healthcare sector in the north of Gaza since October 2024 and refusing to abandon the hospital and his patients," Callamard noted. "He has stood against Israel's genocidal act and his arrest along with that of [hundreds] of Palestinian medical staff further provides evidence of genocidal intent."
"None of the medical staff abducted by Israeli forces since November 2023 from Gaza during raids on hospitals and clinics has been charged or put before a trial; those released after enduring unimaginable torture were never charged and did not stand trial," she added. "Those still detained remain held without charges or trial under inhumane conditions and at risk of torture."
According to PHRI, "Since October 2023, Israel has arrested thousands of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, including 230 doctors."
"The whereabouts and fate of many remain unknown, and requests for their location remain unanswered for many months," the group said Thursday. "In some cases, only thanks to the persistence of human rights organizations, information has been provided regarding the whereabouts of some of the missing. In some cases, it was revealed that the missing individuals died while in military or prison service custody."
Drop Site Newsreported Friday that the IDF ordered the "evacuation of al-Awda Hospital in north Gaza, warning that those who remain by 3:00 pm will face death or bombing," and pointed out that "around 65 healthcare workers and 30 patients are currently at the hospital."
In a Friday statement, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy group in the United States, demanded action from the U.S. government, which has given Israel billions of dollars in weapons support as it has waged an assault on Gaza that's led to a genocide case at the International Court of Justice.
"The Biden administration, which is a full partner in Israel's genocide, must act to secure the release of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya and to end the far-right Israeli government's systematic assault on hospitals and medical personnel in Gaza," said CAIR. "Israeli attacks on medical facilities, its daily slaughter of Palestinian civilians, and its forced starvation of an entire population are clearly part of the overall genocidal campaign of ethnic cleansing in Gaza."
Israel Detaining North Gaza Hospital Director in Notorious Torture Camp
A Palestinian recently released from Sde Teiman said Israeli guards beat Hussam Abu Safiya “until his eye was bleeding.”
By Sharon Zhang ,
Safiya’s family has put out an urgent appeal calling on the world, especially the World Health Organization and MedGlobal, to take action for his release. They warned that he is experiencing “extreme cold” in Israeli custody as witnesses have said that soldiers forced him to strip and used him as a human shield after the massacre.
“We have received testimonies from released detainees confirming that he has been subjected to humiliation and mistreatment, including being forced to remove his clothes and being used a as human shield,” his family said. “He is also suffering from extreme cold and deprivation of necessary medical care.”
MedGlobal, for which Safiya is a lead physician, has also called for his release.
“Dr. Abu Safiya has dedicated his life to protecting the health and lives of children in Gaza, providing care under conditions no medical professional should have to endure. His arrest is not only unjust — it is a violation of international humanitarian law, which upholds the protection of medical personnel in conflict zones,” the group’s president and co-founder, Zaher Sahloul, said in a statement. “We urgently call for the immediate and unconditional release of Dr. Abu Safiya.”
A Palestinian recently released from Sde Teiman said Israeli guards beat Hussam Abu Safiya “until his eye was bleeding.”
By Sharon Zhang ,
December 30, 2024
Ambulances transport wounded Palestinians from the Kamal Adwan Hospital to the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, on December 28, 2024.
Omar Al-Qattaa / AFP via Getty Images
Did you know that Truthout is a nonprofit and independently funded by readers like you? If you value what we do, please support our work with a donation.
Israeli forces are reportedly detaining Kamal Adwan Hospital Director Hussam Abu Safiya in a camp notorious for torture, sexual assault and killings of Palestinians, after abducting him and carrying out a massacre in the hospital last week.
CNN reported on Monday, citing Palestinians recently released from Israeli custody, that Israel is holding Safiya in Sde Teiman camp, a camp likened to Guantánamo Bay for Israeli soldiers’ horrific treatment of detainees there, who are often held without charges. Detainees said that they had either seen and recognized the doctor or heard his name being read out.
CNN cited a man named Alaa Abu Banat, who was abducted and detained by Israeli forces 43 days ago while he was walking home. He said he talked to Safiya’s cellmate, who told him Israeli soldiers beat Safiya “until his eye was bleeding.” Israel’s torture camps, particularly Sde Teiman, have become infamous for their brutality against Palestinians throughout Israel’s genocide. The Israeli military has killed at least 60 Palestinian detainees in their custody since October 7, 2023, according to human rights sources.
“They are all still in detention. They treated them really badly especially the doctors,” Abu Banat told the outlet.
Safiya’s family also said in a statement on Monday that they have heard from recently released detainees that the doctor is being held at Sde Teiman.
Israel Orders Total Evacuation of North Gaza Hospital, Sets Facility Ablaze
The military threatened the hospital’s director, saying: “This time we will arrest you.”
By Sharon Zhang , Truthout December 27, 2024
Israeli forces claimed, without evidence, that Safiya was being held over suspicions that he is a member of Hamas — the same excuse used for nearly all Palestinian detainees from Gaza, even if they are later cleared of such claims. One eyewitness released from the torture camp said that soldiers there said they were holding prisoners simply for being from Gaza.
Images circulating online showed Safiya, a pediatrician, walking toward Israeli tanks in the wreckage of Israel’s assault on and around Kamal Adwan — formerly the last operational hospital in northern Gaza. His condition is unknown.
Israeli forces destroyed what was left of Kamal Adwan Hospital last week after having attacked and besieged the hospital for nearly three months straight. Soldiers set the facility ablaze after violently forcing dozens of patients and medical workers to evacuate, stripping many of them to their underwear and detaining others.
Safiya has been vocal throughout Israel’s assault, during which Israeli forces killed his son, Ibrahim. The doctor has provided crucial updates about Israel’s atrocities in and around the hospital while pleading, for months, for international intervention to help save the lives of dozens of patients and medical staff at Kamal Adwan. Israeli forces have detained him in previous raids of the facility, done as Israel has carried out its campaign of total ethnic cleansing in north Gaza.
Did you know that Truthout is a nonprofit and independently funded by readers like you? If you value what we do, please support our work with a donation.
Israeli forces are reportedly detaining Kamal Adwan Hospital Director Hussam Abu Safiya in a camp notorious for torture, sexual assault and killings of Palestinians, after abducting him and carrying out a massacre in the hospital last week.
CNN reported on Monday, citing Palestinians recently released from Israeli custody, that Israel is holding Safiya in Sde Teiman camp, a camp likened to Guantánamo Bay for Israeli soldiers’ horrific treatment of detainees there, who are often held without charges. Detainees said that they had either seen and recognized the doctor or heard his name being read out.
CNN cited a man named Alaa Abu Banat, who was abducted and detained by Israeli forces 43 days ago while he was walking home. He said he talked to Safiya’s cellmate, who told him Israeli soldiers beat Safiya “until his eye was bleeding.” Israel’s torture camps, particularly Sde Teiman, have become infamous for their brutality against Palestinians throughout Israel’s genocide. The Israeli military has killed at least 60 Palestinian detainees in their custody since October 7, 2023, according to human rights sources.
“They are all still in detention. They treated them really badly especially the doctors,” Abu Banat told the outlet.
Safiya’s family also said in a statement on Monday that they have heard from recently released detainees that the doctor is being held at Sde Teiman.
Israel Orders Total Evacuation of North Gaza Hospital, Sets Facility Ablaze
The military threatened the hospital’s director, saying: “This time we will arrest you.”
By Sharon Zhang , Truthout December 27, 2024
Israeli forces claimed, without evidence, that Safiya was being held over suspicions that he is a member of Hamas — the same excuse used for nearly all Palestinian detainees from Gaza, even if they are later cleared of such claims. One eyewitness released from the torture camp said that soldiers there said they were holding prisoners simply for being from Gaza.
Images circulating online showed Safiya, a pediatrician, walking toward Israeli tanks in the wreckage of Israel’s assault on and around Kamal Adwan — formerly the last operational hospital in northern Gaza. His condition is unknown.
Israeli forces destroyed what was left of Kamal Adwan Hospital last week after having attacked and besieged the hospital for nearly three months straight. Soldiers set the facility ablaze after violently forcing dozens of patients and medical workers to evacuate, stripping many of them to their underwear and detaining others.
Safiya has been vocal throughout Israel’s assault, during which Israeli forces killed his son, Ibrahim. The doctor has provided crucial updates about Israel’s atrocities in and around the hospital while pleading, for months, for international intervention to help save the lives of dozens of patients and medical staff at Kamal Adwan. Israeli forces have detained him in previous raids of the facility, done as Israel has carried out its campaign of total ethnic cleansing in north Gaza.
Safiya’s family has put out an urgent appeal calling on the world, especially the World Health Organization and MedGlobal, to take action for his release. They warned that he is experiencing “extreme cold” in Israeli custody as witnesses have said that soldiers forced him to strip and used him as a human shield after the massacre.
“We have received testimonies from released detainees confirming that he has been subjected to humiliation and mistreatment, including being forced to remove his clothes and being used a as human shield,” his family said. “He is also suffering from extreme cold and deprivation of necessary medical care.”
MedGlobal, for which Safiya is a lead physician, has also called for his release.
“Dr. Abu Safiya has dedicated his life to protecting the health and lives of children in Gaza, providing care under conditions no medical professional should have to endure. His arrest is not only unjust — it is a violation of international humanitarian law, which upholds the protection of medical personnel in conflict zones,” the group’s president and co-founder, Zaher Sahloul, said in a statement. “We urgently call for the immediate and unconditional release of Dr. Abu Safiya.”
UN Expert Urges Medical Boycott of Israel After It Detains Hospital Director
Israel’s destruction of Gaza’s health care system is a “critical tool of its ongoing genocide,” Francesca Albanese said.
By Sharon Zhang ,
Israel’s destruction of Gaza’s health care system is a “critical tool of its ongoing genocide,” Francesca Albanese said.
By Sharon Zhang ,
Truthout
December 30, 2024
United Nations Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese holds a press conference in Geneva on December 11, 2024.
Fabrice Coffrini / AFP via Getty Images
The UN’s top expert on the occupied Palestinian territories has called for medical professionals worldwide to cut ties with Israel after it destroyed northern Gaza’s last operational hospital and abducted its director, sparking an outcry.
UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese called on the medical community to act on Monday, as reports emerged that Israeli forces are holding the head of Kamal Adwan Hospital, Hussam Abu Safiya, at a torture camp for Palestinian detainees that’s notorious for its brutality.
“I urge medical professionals worldwide to pursue the severance of all ties with Israel as a concrete way to forcefully denounce Israel’s full destruction of the Palestinian healthcare system in Gaza, a critical tool of its ongoing genocide,” Albanese said.
Israeli forces are reportedly holding Safiya at Israel’s Sde Teiman, where Palestinians, including children, have reported enduring constant torture, sexual assault and severe deprivation by Israeli guards. One witness, recently released from the facility, has told reporters that Israeli guards beat Safiya until his eye was bleeding. His current condition, like that of the thousands of Palestinians held by Israel without charges, is unknown.
Israeli authorities have claimed that Safiya and Kamal Adwan Hospital have ties with Hamas — a claim for which they have provided no evidence, and which, even if it were true, experts have said could not possibly justify their nearly three month-long assault of the hospital that has rendered it inoperable.
Advocates for Palestinian rights have long condemned Israel for its system of medical apartheid, while UN officials have found that Israel is carrying out a systematic campaign to destroy Gaza’s medical system. Israel’s destruction of Kamal Adwan means that northern Gaza is left without an operational hospital.
Albanese has called on international leaders to demand Safiya’s release. “Palestinians must be protected, especially those who have become icons of humanity in the face of an implacable genocide,” the UN expert said.
Safiya’s family has issued urgent pleas for the doctor’s release, begging international powers to stand up to Israel’s aggression.
A multitude of figures and groups have called for the release of Safiya — one of many doctors and health care workers targeted by Israeli forces throughout Israel’s genocide.
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the WHO has not been informed of Safiya’s condition and called for Israel to release him.
“Hospitals in Gaza have once again become battlegrounds and the health system is under severe threat. Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza is out of service — following the raid, forced patient and staff evacuation and the detention of its director, Dr Hussam Abu Safiya two days ago,” Tedros said. “His whereabouts are unknown. We call for his immediate release.”
Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa office called for Safiya to be released “immediately and unconditionally.”
“For months Dr. Abu Safiya has been the voice of Gaza’s decimated health sector, appealing for the protection of his hospital and working under inhumane conditions, including following the killing of his son,” the group said. “Israel must immediately release all Palestinians arbitrarily detained, including health workers. Hospitals and health workers are not targets.”
Israel’s assault of Kamal Adwan has been extremely brutal, with weeks of attacks from Israel including weapons like booby trapped robots and barrels, drones and bombs. According to Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, the Israeli military also carried out field executions and sexual assault in its attack on Friday. Some survivors described being used as human shields by Israeli forces, after being forcibly stripped.
The group urged the UN to immediately launch an investigation into Israel’s destruction of the hospital.
“During the assault, Israeli forces destroyed and burned most of Kamal Adwan Hospital’s sections after targeting it with shells. Preliminary information also indicates that several hospital staff members were killed while trying to extinguish fires in one of the hospital’s sections, which was completely rendered out of service,” the group found.
“Euro-Med Monitor reaffirms that the failure of states to fulfill their legal obligations to halt the genocide in Gaza over the past 14 months, coupled with their refusal to take decisive steps to compel Israel to stop its crimes, renders them internationally liable for these atrocities, with some states effectively becoming accomplices,” Euro-Med Monitor went on.
The UN’s top expert on the occupied Palestinian territories has called for medical professionals worldwide to cut ties with Israel after it destroyed northern Gaza’s last operational hospital and abducted its director, sparking an outcry.
UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese called on the medical community to act on Monday, as reports emerged that Israeli forces are holding the head of Kamal Adwan Hospital, Hussam Abu Safiya, at a torture camp for Palestinian detainees that’s notorious for its brutality.
“I urge medical professionals worldwide to pursue the severance of all ties with Israel as a concrete way to forcefully denounce Israel’s full destruction of the Palestinian healthcare system in Gaza, a critical tool of its ongoing genocide,” Albanese said.
Israeli forces are reportedly holding Safiya at Israel’s Sde Teiman, where Palestinians, including children, have reported enduring constant torture, sexual assault and severe deprivation by Israeli guards. One witness, recently released from the facility, has told reporters that Israeli guards beat Safiya until his eye was bleeding. His current condition, like that of the thousands of Palestinians held by Israel without charges, is unknown.
Israeli authorities have claimed that Safiya and Kamal Adwan Hospital have ties with Hamas — a claim for which they have provided no evidence, and which, even if it were true, experts have said could not possibly justify their nearly three month-long assault of the hospital that has rendered it inoperable.
Advocates for Palestinian rights have long condemned Israel for its system of medical apartheid, while UN officials have found that Israel is carrying out a systematic campaign to destroy Gaza’s medical system. Israel’s destruction of Kamal Adwan means that northern Gaza is left without an operational hospital.
Albanese has called on international leaders to demand Safiya’s release. “Palestinians must be protected, especially those who have become icons of humanity in the face of an implacable genocide,” the UN expert said.
Safiya’s family has issued urgent pleas for the doctor’s release, begging international powers to stand up to Israel’s aggression.
A multitude of figures and groups have called for the release of Safiya — one of many doctors and health care workers targeted by Israeli forces throughout Israel’s genocide.
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the WHO has not been informed of Safiya’s condition and called for Israel to release him.
“Hospitals in Gaza have once again become battlegrounds and the health system is under severe threat. Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza is out of service — following the raid, forced patient and staff evacuation and the detention of its director, Dr Hussam Abu Safiya two days ago,” Tedros said. “His whereabouts are unknown. We call for his immediate release.”
Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa office called for Safiya to be released “immediately and unconditionally.”
“For months Dr. Abu Safiya has been the voice of Gaza’s decimated health sector, appealing for the protection of his hospital and working under inhumane conditions, including following the killing of his son,” the group said. “Israel must immediately release all Palestinians arbitrarily detained, including health workers. Hospitals and health workers are not targets.”
Israel’s assault of Kamal Adwan has been extremely brutal, with weeks of attacks from Israel including weapons like booby trapped robots and barrels, drones and bombs. According to Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, the Israeli military also carried out field executions and sexual assault in its attack on Friday. Some survivors described being used as human shields by Israeli forces, after being forcibly stripped.
The group urged the UN to immediately launch an investigation into Israel’s destruction of the hospital.
“During the assault, Israeli forces destroyed and burned most of Kamal Adwan Hospital’s sections after targeting it with shells. Preliminary information also indicates that several hospital staff members were killed while trying to extinguish fires in one of the hospital’s sections, which was completely rendered out of service,” the group found.
“Euro-Med Monitor reaffirms that the failure of states to fulfill their legal obligations to halt the genocide in Gaza over the past 14 months, coupled with their refusal to take decisive steps to compel Israel to stop its crimes, renders them internationally liable for these atrocities, with some states effectively becoming accomplices,” Euro-Med Monitor went on.
Allies Demand Release of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya From Notorious Israeli Prison
"Bombing of hospitals and kidnapping, torturing, and killing doctors and healthcare workers is illegal and immoral and a crime according to the Genocide Convention," asserted Doctors for Humanity.
Kamal Adwan Hospital Director Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya approaches the open door of an Israel Defense Forces tank after an Israeli raid on the facility, in Beit Lahia on December 28, 2024.
(Photo: Channel 14 screen grab)
Brett Wilkins
Dec 30, 2024
COMMON DREAMS
Human rights defenders in the global medical community and beyond are demanding Israel immediately release Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Gaza's obliterated Kamal Adwan Hospital, who was seized by Israeli troops on Saturday and is believed to be imprisoned at a notorious detention center where dozens of detainees have died and where torture, rape, and other abuses have been reported.
"We appeal to world leaders, to the global medical community, and to all who value humanity: Help us save our friend, our colleague, and a true healer," Dr. Karameh Kuemmerle, a Boston-based pediatric neurologist and co-founder of Doctors Against Genocide, told Common Dreams on Monday.
"Put all kinds of pressure to ensure his release so he can return to his patients, who need him desperately, and to his family, who cannot endure this pain," Kuemmerle added. "We demand a reality that respects life, respects human rights, and respects every man, woman, and child for humanity's sake."
Doctors for Humanity—a coalition of groups including Global Health Coalition, Doctors Against Genocide, and Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations—said in a statement Monday, "We the medical community demand the immediate release of Dr. Abu Safiya and an immediate end to the bombing of hospitals and targeted kidnapping and killing of healthcare workers in Gaza."
"Bombing of hospitals and kidnapping, torturing and killing doctors and healthcare workers is illegal and immoral and a crime according to the Genocide Convention," Doctors for Humanity added.
Dr. Zaher Sahloul, president and co-founder the Illinois-based NGO MedGlobal, for whom Safiya works as lead Gaza physician, said over the weekend that "Dr. Abu Safiya has dedicated his life to protecting the health and lives of children in Gaza, providing care under conditions no medical professional should have to endure."
"His arrest is not only unjust—it is a violation of international humanitarian law, which upholds the protection of medical personnel in conflict zones," the group added. "We urgently call for the immediate and unconditional release of Dr. Abu Safiya."
Dr. Yipeng Ge—who in November 2023 was suspended from his medical residency at the University of Ottawa for social media posts critical of Israel's "settler-colonialism" and "apartheid upon Palestinian people"—called for Abu Safiya's "immediate release," as well as "protection of hospitals and medical workers in Gaza" and "an end to the genocide" there.
Amnesty International secretary-general Agnès Callamard hailed Abu Safiya as "the voice of Gaza's decimated health sector," who pleaded "for the protection of his hospital" while "working under inhumane conditions, including following the killing of his son" by an Israeli drone strike at the hospital gates earlier this year.
"We at Amnesty are extremely concerned over the fate and well-being of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya," Callamard said. "He must be released immediately and unconditionally."
Recently released former detainees at the Sde Teiman prison in Israel's Negev Desert said Abu Safiya is being held there, and that the Israeli security forces working there—some of whom stand accused of gang-raping a prisoner—are treating captured Palestinian doctors "really badly."
Idrees Abu Safiya, Abu Safiya's son, toldThe Guardian on Monday that his father's leg was badly injured during the Israeli raid on the hospital.
"We are so worried, we haven't been able to sleep for three days because we didn't know until today where he is," Idrees told the British newspaper.
Relatives of Abu Safiya toldCNN that "Sde Teiman is known for brutality and torture, we can't imagine what our father is going through in that place and if he is well or not, warm or cold… hungry or in pain."
"Bombing of hospitals and kidnapping, torturing, and killing doctors and healthcare workers is illegal and immoral and a crime according to the Genocide Convention," asserted Doctors for Humanity.
Kamal Adwan Hospital Director Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya approaches the open door of an Israel Defense Forces tank after an Israeli raid on the facility, in Beit Lahia on December 28, 2024.
(Photo: Channel 14 screen grab)
Brett Wilkins
Dec 30, 2024
COMMON DREAMS
Human rights defenders in the global medical community and beyond are demanding Israel immediately release Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Gaza's obliterated Kamal Adwan Hospital, who was seized by Israeli troops on Saturday and is believed to be imprisoned at a notorious detention center where dozens of detainees have died and where torture, rape, and other abuses have been reported.
"We appeal to world leaders, to the global medical community, and to all who value humanity: Help us save our friend, our colleague, and a true healer," Dr. Karameh Kuemmerle, a Boston-based pediatric neurologist and co-founder of Doctors Against Genocide, told Common Dreams on Monday.
"Put all kinds of pressure to ensure his release so he can return to his patients, who need him desperately, and to his family, who cannot endure this pain," Kuemmerle added. "We demand a reality that respects life, respects human rights, and respects every man, woman, and child for humanity's sake."
Doctors for Humanity—a coalition of groups including Global Health Coalition, Doctors Against Genocide, and Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations—said in a statement Monday, "We the medical community demand the immediate release of Dr. Abu Safiya and an immediate end to the bombing of hospitals and targeted kidnapping and killing of healthcare workers in Gaza."
"Bombing of hospitals and kidnapping, torturing and killing doctors and healthcare workers is illegal and immoral and a crime according to the Genocide Convention," Doctors for Humanity added.
Dr. Zaher Sahloul, president and co-founder the Illinois-based NGO MedGlobal, for whom Safiya works as lead Gaza physician, said over the weekend that "Dr. Abu Safiya has dedicated his life to protecting the health and lives of children in Gaza, providing care under conditions no medical professional should have to endure."
"His arrest is not only unjust—it is a violation of international humanitarian law, which upholds the protection of medical personnel in conflict zones," the group added. "We urgently call for the immediate and unconditional release of Dr. Abu Safiya."
Dr. Yipeng Ge—who in November 2023 was suspended from his medical residency at the University of Ottawa for social media posts critical of Israel's "settler-colonialism" and "apartheid upon Palestinian people"—called for Abu Safiya's "immediate release," as well as "protection of hospitals and medical workers in Gaza" and "an end to the genocide" there.
Amnesty International secretary-general Agnès Callamard hailed Abu Safiya as "the voice of Gaza's decimated health sector," who pleaded "for the protection of his hospital" while "working under inhumane conditions, including following the killing of his son" by an Israeli drone strike at the hospital gates earlier this year.
"We at Amnesty are extremely concerned over the fate and well-being of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya," Callamard said. "He must be released immediately and unconditionally."
Recently released former detainees at the Sde Teiman prison in Israel's Negev Desert said Abu Safiya is being held there, and that the Israeli security forces working there—some of whom stand accused of gang-raping a prisoner—are treating captured Palestinian doctors "really badly."
Idrees Abu Safiya, Abu Safiya's son, toldThe Guardian on Monday that his father's leg was badly injured during the Israeli raid on the hospital.
"We are so worried, we haven't been able to sleep for three days because we didn't know until today where he is," Idrees told the British newspaper.
Relatives of Abu Safiya toldCNN that "Sde Teiman is known for brutality and torture, we can't imagine what our father is going through in that place and if he is well or not, warm or cold… hungry or in pain."
Kuemmerle told Common Dreams: "What is striking about Dr. Abu Safiya is his extraordinary composure, kindness, and unwavering dedication, even in the face of unimaginable hardships. We have come to know his bravery, dedication, humane professionalism, and gentle manners. We are terrified for his fate, knowing all too well as Palestinians the horrors that await our doctors in these torture camps."
Israel claims that Abu Safiya—who, despite the killing of his son and an injury caused by shrapnel from a November 23 Israeli attack on Kamal Adwan, refused to stop working at the hospital—is a suspected Hamas terrorist. That's a common allegation made by Israeli officials, who also often claim that hospitals are used as Hamas command-and-control centers. These officials usually offer very little if any evidence to support their assertions.
"The lies that are being spread right now that [Abu Safiya] is really a Hamas colonel are lies to prevent what is happening right now, which is a global wave of outrage, and that global wave of outrage must grow so we, the global medical community, can stop the relentless attacks on healthcare workers and healthcare infrastructure," Dr. Rupa Marya, a University of California, San Francisco professor of medicine who's currently on paid suspension after questioning whether an Israeli student and likely Israel Defense Forces (IDF) veteran may have committed war crimes, told Common Dreams.
Israel claims that Abu Safiya—who, despite the killing of his son and an injury caused by shrapnel from a November 23 Israeli attack on Kamal Adwan, refused to stop working at the hospital—is a suspected Hamas terrorist. That's a common allegation made by Israeli officials, who also often claim that hospitals are used as Hamas command-and-control centers. These officials usually offer very little if any evidence to support their assertions.
"The lies that are being spread right now that [Abu Safiya] is really a Hamas colonel are lies to prevent what is happening right now, which is a global wave of outrage, and that global wave of outrage must grow so we, the global medical community, can stop the relentless attacks on healthcare workers and healthcare infrastructure," Dr. Rupa Marya, a University of California, San Francisco professor of medicine who's currently on paid suspension after questioning whether an Israeli student and likely Israel Defense Forces (IDF) veteran may have committed war crimes, told Common Dreams.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, hundreds of healthcare workers have been detained and more than 1,000 have been killed since the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel. Critics accuse Israel of deliberately killing and wounding health workers.
The Geneva-based Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor on Saturday published the testimonies of witnesses to alleged IDF war crimes during the Kamal Adwan raid, including "deliberate killings, field executions, as well as sexual and physical assaults on women and girls from medical teams and displaced women in the area."
Responding to Israeli attacks on hospitals and Abu Safiya's detention, Rohan Talbot, director of advocacy and campaigns at London-based Medical Aid for Palestinians, said on the Bluesky social media platform Saturday that "our leaders must demand the immediate and safe release of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya and all detained Gaza health workers."
"Health workers are not a target," he added, "and impunity for Israel's destruction of Palestinian healthcare must end."
The Geneva-based Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor on Saturday published the testimonies of witnesses to alleged IDF war crimes during the Kamal Adwan raid, including "deliberate killings, field executions, as well as sexual and physical assaults on women and girls from medical teams and displaced women in the area."
Responding to Israeli attacks on hospitals and Abu Safiya's detention, Rohan Talbot, director of advocacy and campaigns at London-based Medical Aid for Palestinians, said on the Bluesky social media platform Saturday that "our leaders must demand the immediate and safe release of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya and all detained Gaza health workers."
"Health workers are not a target," he added, "and impunity for Israel's destruction of Palestinian healthcare must end."
No comments:
Post a Comment