Lawyer says detained Gaza doctor was severely beaten in Israeli jail

The lawyer for a prominent Palestinian medic from Gaza, detained by Israeli authorities without charge for more than 18 months, has expressed grave concern over his client’s life after a recent visit to the Rakefet interrogation facility.

According to Nasser Odeh, Dr Hussam Abu Safiya suffered severe violence in the prison, “nearly losing consciousness several times.” He described bruises around the face, neck and ears, and said he felt it might be the last time they would meet.

The Israel Prison Service dismissed the allegations as false. Meanwhile, Israel’s Supreme Court has ordered a response to a petition calling for the release of Abu Safiya and 13 other Palestinian doctors held without charge.

Abu Safiya was formerly the director of Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gaza and was taken into custody in December 2024 after the Israeli military forced staff and patients to leave the facility, citing it as a “Hamas terrorist stronghold.” He holds a rank of colonel in Hamas’s health department, a claim disputed by medical staff and aid groups.

UN and human‑rights organizations, including Amnesty International, Physicians for Human Rights Israel, and the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, have urged Israel to release the detained doctors, citing reports of torture and systematic abuse.