Family and UN urge release of Gaza doctor detained by Israel

Doctor Hussam Abu Safiya is almost unrecognisable after injuries in Israeli jail, his lawyer has said

It is one of the most famous images from the war in Gaza.

A doctor in a white coat walking across the rubble in a ruined street, making his way from his hospital towards two Israeli armoured vehicles.

Doctor Hussam Abu Safiya was the director of the Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gaza. In December 2024, he kept the hospital running for weeks as the surrounding neighborhood was bombed and besieged.

Israeli forces suspected the hospital was being used as a Hamas stronghold, and had summoned Dr Hussam to talk to him about its evacuation.

The paediatrician ended up being detained on suspicion of terrorist activity. He has been in prison in Israel ever since.

His son Elyias told ITV News that his father had been subjected to torture and beatings and was being kept in solitary confinement in conditions that are cruel and inhuman.

Israel’s Prison Service described the allegations of torture and abuse as false and entirely without factual basis.

The last time Dr Hussam was seen was on a video link to a courtroom. He sat silent and gaunt as his latest appeal for release was denied on the basis of evidence, which the Israeli authorities describe as confidential.

The United Nations has called for his immediate release, with its human rights council commenting: “The practice of medicine is not a crime.”

The campaign group Physicians for Human Rights is petitioning Israeli authorities for the release of fourteen Palestinian doctors from Gaza – all of whom, it says, are being held without charge.

Dr Hussam was originally detained on suspicion of terrorist activity. Elyias says his father’s only crime was to be a compassionate doctor, against whom the Israeli military held a grudge because he refused to leave his post.

To those in Gaza, Dr Hussam is a hero. The man who walked towards the tanks, and still has not come home.

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    Last updated Jul 9th, 2026 at 14:39

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