Hussam Abu Safiya

Hussam Idris Abu Safiya (; born 21 November 1973) is a Palestinian paediatrician and neonatologist who served as the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in the Gaza Strip from February 2024 until December 2024, when healthcare workers and patients were removed by the Israeli military during the Kamal Adwan Hospital sieges. Abu Safiya was subsequently arrested by Israel and has been detained without charge in Ofer Prison for over a year. Abu Safiya's health has declined significantly while detained, with his lawyer and human rights groups alleging repeated abuses, and as of 6 July 2026, he is in critical condition. After completing his mandatory education, Abu Safiya moved to Kazakhstan. He studied medicine at Ahmet Yassawi University in Turkistan, Kazakhstan. While there, he met and married a Kazakh woman, Elbina. After graduating from university, Abu Safiya and his wife returned to Gaza in 1996, settling in Jabalia.

Abu Safiya went on to specialise in paediatrics and neonatology, obtaining a master's degree and passing the Palestinian Board exams. He began working as a doctor for the Gaza Health Ministry, going on to become the head of the paediatric department at Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, a major hospital serving northern Gaza. In February 2024, Abu Safiya became the director of the hospital, replacing Ahmed al-Kahlout.

Gaza war and hospital sieges

Following the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023, Kamal Adwan Hospital began to experience multiple sieges by the Israel Defence Forces, beginning in December 2023. Due to frequent bombardments, Abu Safiya and his family moved into the hospital on a permanent basis. The IDF accused Kamal Adwan of sheltering members of Hamas, and Abu Safiya was interrogated by Israeli soldiers on at least four occasions. Aerial footage was subsequently released of Abu Safiya performing funeral rites for Ibrahim in the hospital's courtyard, and he was buried near a wall therein. Kamal Adwan was one of the last still functioning hospitals in the north of the Gaza Strip before Abu Safiya's abduction by Israeli forces and its forcible evacuation.

On 9 January 2025, Abu Safiya attended a court hearing at Ashkelon Magistrates' Court, where his detention was extended to 13 February. The Al Mezan Center for Human Rights reported that he had been prohibited from accessing a lawyer until 22 January and that he and his family had not been informed that he would be attending a hearing in Ashkelon.

On 11 February 2025, Abu Safiya was allowed to meet his lawyer in Ofer Prison, located in the occupied West Bank. During their meeting, he reported being subjected to various forms of torture and abuse, including being forcibly stripped, tightly shackled, and forced to sit on sharp gravel for hours. He also endured violent physical assaults, such as beatings with batons and electric shock sticks. Abu Safiya described being held in solitary confinement for 25 days, during which he was subjected to nearly constant interrogation for 10 days. Despite multiple requests for medical care, Israeli authorities denied him treatment for his heart condition.

Abu Safiya's lawyer visited him again on 19 March 2025 in Ofer Prison. She expressed concern about his health stating "He is suffering from arterial tension, cardiac arrhythmia and vision problems," and that "he has lost 20 kilos in two months and fractured four ribs during interrogations, without receiving proper medical care". She stated that Abu Safiya is being tortured to get him to confess to operating on Hamas members, an accusation that he denies.

On 13 July 2025, Abu Safiya's lawyer reported that he had lost over while imprisoned and had sustained multiple injuries from a beating on 24 June. The lawyer also said he is being kept in solitary confinement and is being denied medical care for an irregular heartbeat.

Israeli courts twice extended Abu Safiya's administrative detention for an additional six months; in October 2025 and April 2026. On 5 July 2026, Abu Safiya's attorney warned that he was in critical condition following abuses during his incarceration. The attorney and Abu Safiya's son said that he was having trouble breathing and speaking, had fresh injuries, and believed he was going to be killed. His family also told to the Middle East Eye that due to Abu Safiya's condition continued to deteriorate, his family felt that they have been "betrayed" by human rights groups.

International response to Abu Safiya's imprisonment The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that it had lost contact with Abu Safiya following the evacuation of Kamal Adwan Hospital. Numerous individuals and organisations, including WHO's Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Amnesty International's Agnès Callamard, the Council on America-Islamic Relations, and the American Academy of Pediatrics called for Abu Safiya's whereabouts to be shared and for his immediate release from detention.

In April 2025, the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians, Hind Rajab Foundation, and Global Legal Action Network wrote to the UK attorney general to apply for an arrest warrant for Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar for the attack on Kamal Adwan hospital and the detention of Abu Safiya.

In June 2025, several organizations, including Human Rights Watch and MedGlobal, published a joint letter calling for the release of health care workers from Gaza and the West Bank detained by Israel, including Abu Safiya and five other MedGlobal staff.

On 8 August 2026, Dr. Muneer Al-Boursh, director general of the Gaza Health Ministry, called on X for urgent action to "save" Abu Safiya, due to his critical condition, before it is "too late".