No end to torture of Gaza doctor Abu Safia in Israeli prison: What to know

Jailed Palestinian doctor Hussam Abu Safia continues to face abuse under Israeli detention, according to his lawyer, raising renewed concerns about his safety inside the prison.

Israel abducted Abu Safia on December 27, 2024 from the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza for defying Israeli orders to evacuate the hospital – one of the last remaining functioning medical facilities at the time. Israel has killed hundreds of medics and destroyed or damaged almost all of Gaza’s hospitals as part of its push to cripple the enclave’s healthcare system.

Campaigners and the family of the Palestinian doctor have routinely highlighted his physical state inside the prison, calling for his release. In July, a United Nations inquiry commission said Abu Sufia faced “continued and severe abuse”, and last month, the director general of Gaza’s Ministry of Health called for urgent action to “save” the jailed doctor’s life.

So what is the latest testimony by the jailed doctor, and why does Israel continue to keep him in detention without any charge?

The jailed doctor’s latest testimony was conveyed by his lawyer, Nasser Odeh, according to a statement on Wednesday by Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI). Odeh visited Abu Safia in the Rakefet detention facility inside Nitzan Prison on August 30.

Abu Safia said Israeli prison guards continue to beat him, deprive him of sleep, and threaten him against sharing the conditions of his detention with his lawyer.

Guards assault the doctor by “punching and kicking him and beating him with batons across his body, including sensitive areas”, according to the statement from PHRI.

Abu Safia is also “deliberately” deprived of sleep through the use of loudspeakers and other noise throughout the night, PHRI said.