Gaza's Dr Abu Safiya reports beatings, torture in Israeli prison

Detained Palestinian physician Dr Hussam Abu Safiya has given another chilling testimony about abuse from Israeli prison guards, as Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI) presses for an independent physical examination following his transfer to a medical facility.

Abu Safiya, director of Gaza's Kamal Adwan Hospital, told his lawyer on Sunday that Israeli prison guards had continued beating him across his body, including "sensitive areas", with hands, boots, and batons, according to PHRI.

He also reported sleep deprivation, with his jailers playing noises on the prison's public address system at night.

Abu Safiya said that after a previous visit from his lawyer, he was assaulted and warned not to share information about the conditions of his detention.

"Dr Abu Safiya's testimony confirms that the pattern of deliberate abuse against him is continuing," PHRI said in a statement.

"His medical condition requires further assessment and treatment, yet the IPS [Israeli Prison Service] continues to delay access for an independent physician," it added.

PHRI is seeking to allow Dr Amit Tirosh to independently examine Abu Safiyah, having submitted a request on 7 July, though the Israel Prison Service has requested extensions on its response to the submission, a move PRHI says there is no justification for.

Abu Safiya spent three weeks at a medical facility in Ramla Prison from 10 August, a move that "indicates significant medical needs that cannot be adequately addressed in ordinary prison wings". PHRI has cited this as a key reason for an independent medical examination.

The doctor's detention, which has lasted over 600 days since December 2024 without charge or trial, has been marked by physical abuse from Israeli prison guards.

The abuse has prompted fears from his family and rights groups that he could die in detention.

PHRI added that Israel's Supreme Court has ordered the state to clarify by 13 September whether the Israeli military chief of staff or an authorised person has considered a request by PHRI to release Abu Safiya along with 13 other detained Palestinian doctors.

The Kamal Adwan Hospital in north Gaza resumed services for patients earlier in March, but on Thursday announced that it has had to suspend hospital activities again after Israeli forces advanced towards the hospital, with heavy fire reported around the facility.

In a statement, Medical Aid for Palestinians Gaza Director, Fikr Shaltoot, said that "once again, Israeli forces are driving one of the few hospitals providing daily medical care to patients in northern Gaza out of service."

"This is the same hospital where Dr Hussam Abu Safiya continued treating patients until Israeli forces detained him. He refused to abandon his patients then. Today, those same patients and his colleagues are once again being forced out of the hospital."

"And while Kamal Adwan is being forced to close, Dr Abu Safiya remains in detention and faces allegations of abuse. This should horrify us," Shaltoot added.