An Israeli court has upheld a six-month detention order against Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza. This ruling has sparked widespread concern and heightened anxieties regarding Israel's operations in the Gaza Strip.
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03-31, 2025The Beersheba District Court's ruling on Tuesday was reportedly based on a secret file submitted by the Israeli Attorney General, claiming that Abu Safiya poses a threat to "national security." However, the details of the specific charges have not been made public, raising questions about the fairness of the proceedings.
During the court hearing, Abu Safiya's lawyer denied the allegations against the doctor, stating that Abu Safiya had been fulfilling his professional duties as director and treatment consultant within the hospital. The defense requested disclosure of the evidence, but the prosecution refused, and the court upheld this decision.
Israeli forces arrested Abu Safiya from the hospital in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, on December 27. This occurred after Israeli attacks had caused the hospital to cease operations. Reportedly, following nearly three months of siege and continuous airstrikes, Israeli forces forcibly entered the hospital, leading all medical staff, patients, and their relatives out at gunpoint, forcing them to strip down to their underwear, and then transferring them to unknown locations.
Abu Safiya's lawyer told Arab48 earlier this month that from the day of his detention until February 10, he was prohibited from meeting with anyone, including his lawyer. Lawyer Gid Kassem was able to visit the doctor in the notorious Ofer prison in the occupied West Bank, after he spent nearly two weeks in the Sde Teiman detention camp in the Negev desert, having been detained for over 70 days.
According to Kassem, the pediatrician was arrested and imprisoned for refusing to obey an evacuation order from the Israeli army, "because his conscience and professionalism required him to stay in the hospital, especially when there were dozens of patients and injured children." Kassem also stated that Abu Safiya endured continuous interrogations lasting 8 to 10 hours each for 13 days, during which he suffered relentless abuse, torture, and assaults. Kassem added that detainees are kept "almost completely isolated from the world" and have no access to any information about the outside unless visits are permitted.
