A woman holds a sign that reads "Free Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, Free Gaza" during a protest in front of the Shin Bet offices, calling for his release, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)

2026-07-05T12:13:10Z

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The lawyer for a prominent Palestinian doctor who was seized by Israeli forces 18 months ago said his client has been abused in captivity and is in critical condition, according to the human rights group representing him.

Hussam Abu Safiya who served as director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, became the face of health workers struggling to treat patients throughout the Israel-Hamas war.

He led the facility through an 85-day siege by the Israeli military, releasing videos in which he pleaded for help before he was arrested in December 2024. He has not been charged.

The Israeli military said Abu Safiya, 53, was being investigated on suspicion of cooperating with or working for Hamas. Staff and international aid groups that worked with him deny the claims.

Physicians for Human Rights Israel and Abu Safiya’s lawyer, Nasser Odeh, said Abu Safiya appeared extremely weak and struggled to sit upright during a visit on July 2. Odeh said he had recent head injuries around his eyes, ears and neck and experienced difficulty breathing.

Odeh and Physicians for Human Rights Israel said they have petitioned to have Abu Safiya transferred to another facility.

Abu Safiya faced physical and psychological abuse and was kept in solitary confinement for extended periods, Odeh said following an appearance before Israel’s Supreme Court last month challenging his continued detainment without charge.

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Abu Safiya appeared briefly by video during that hearing, looking pale and gaunt and with lash-like marks on both arms.

Israel’s Prison Service called the allegations “false and entirely without factual basis.” The prison service declined to discuss the case directly, citing privacy concerns, but said all prisoners and detainees are held in accordance with the law and receive medical care based on Ministry of Health guidelines.

“The Israel Prison Service rejects allegations of abuse, torture, starvation, or denial of medical treatment,” the prison service said.

Israel has faced severe criticism over its treatment of Palestinian prisoners and detainees since the start of its war with Hamas in October 2023. Human rights organizations and the United Nations have alleged systematic patterns of abuse.

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The number of Palestinians in Israeli detention surged after the start of the war and thousands remain in detention. The Associated Press has previously reported on the dire conditions in prisons.

The war between Israel and Hamas began Oct. 7, 2023, after the Gaza-based militant group led an attack on southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage. Since then, more than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive in Gaza, according to the territory’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants.

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Associated Press writers Samy Magdy in Cairo and Natalie Melzer in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this report.

MELANIE LIDMAN





Lidman is an Associated Press reporter based in Tel Aviv, Israel.