Palestinian doctor Hussam Abu Safiya reports continued beatings in Israeli prison

Key facts

• Palestinian doctor Hussam Abu Safiya alleges ongoing physical abuse by Israeli prison guards.
• Abu Safiya claims guards threaten him and forbid him from speaking about his detention conditions.
• The abuse includes beatings in sensitive areas with hands, feet, and batons.
• He also reports guards deliberately deprive him of sleep through nighttime disturbances.
• Abu Safiya, a pediatrician, has been detained without charge since December 2024.

Palestinian doctor Hussam Abu Safiya has told his lawyer that he is still being beaten and threatened by Israeli prison guards. According to the Physicians for Human Rights group, Abu Safiya reported this week that the guards are preventing him from discussing his detention conditions. The organization and Abu Safiya's lawyer stated that the guards beat him in various parts of his body, including sensitive areas, using hands, feet, and batons. Abu Safiya, a pediatrician and former medical director of Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gaza, has been detained without charge by Israel since December 2024. He also told his lawyer that his Israeli guards deliberately deprive him of sleep by making noise and announcements during nighttime hours. Abu Safiya reported that he was attacked the last time his lawyer visited. In July, UN experts called for Abu Safiya's release, describing his detention as arbitrary and part of Israel's systematic targeting of Palestinian health workers. The experts noted that Abu Safiya and other Palestinians are held under Israel's Unlawful Combatants Law, which they previously flagged as incompatible with international law.