Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, was detained by Israeli forces on December 27, 2024, after refusing to evacuate the hospital despite Israeli army orders, according to his son Elyas Abu Safiya [1]. He has been held without formal charges for over 525 days, classified by Israel as an "unlawful combatant," a label used to justify prolonged detention without trial [1].
Since early June 2026, Abu Safiya has been kept in solitary confinement inside a cell roughly one meter by one meter in size, reportedly in either Ramon or Nafha prisons in southern Israel [1]. The small space and isolation have caused severe suffering, his family says. "What we know [about his time in detention] shows severe suffering," Elyas Abu Safiya stated [1].
Conditions of his detention are harsh, including inadequate medical care for chronic diseases and a shrapnel wound in his left thigh. Palestinian lawyer Nasser Odeh said, "Abu Safiya is not receiving the essential medications he needs, and we don’t have any communication or updates regarding his condition" [2]. Visits with family and lawyers are brief, monitored, and conducted behind barriers with guards present. Odeh described his last visit: "We talked through phone from behind a glass barrier, with guards standing alongside both Abu Safiya and me" [2].
A Palestinian lawyer visiting Abu Safiya on May 26, 2026, reported poor health and harsh detention conditions prior to his transfer to solitary confinement on June 3, 2026, at Nafha Prison [2]. Reports indicate he was also held in solitary in Ramon/Ganot prison during early June 2026 [1].
Since October 2023, over 73,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 173,000 injured by Israeli forces, according to Palestinian figures. Even after a ceasefire on October 10, 2025, at least 961 Palestinians were killed and over 3,000 injured [2].
Abu Safiya’s detention without charge continues, and his ongoing solitary confinement highlights tensions around Israel’s use of administrative detention for Palestinians. There has been no indication of a release or formal charges against him at this point [1, 2].
