U.N. experts on Tuesday called for the immediate release of a detained Palestinian doctor, Hussam Abu Safiya, from Gaza, warning he faces torture and severe health risks in Israeli custody.
"We have received reports that Dr. Abu Safiya has been subjected to torture and other cruel and degrading treatment, and that his health condition remains dire," the experts said in a statement.
The statement was signed by Tialeng Mofokeng, the U.N. special rapporteur on the right to physical and mental health, and Ben Saul, the U.N. special rapporteur on protection of human rights while countering terrorism.
Safiya, the former director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, has been held by Israel since Dec. 27, 2024, under Israel’s unlawful combatant law, despite being a civilian medical practitioner.
The experts said his detention appears "flagrantly arbitrary" and inconsistent with international standards, including the Mandela Rules, which require access to health care for detainees.
"He has been systematically denied critical medical examination and treatment," they said, warning that his life and well-being have been "gravely endangered."
They also stressed that all states have an obligation to protect health care workers and ensure the rights of detainees, including freedom from torture and access to medical care.
The experts highlighted violence against health workers and facilities in Gaza, saying the abuses continue despite a cease-fire.
"Israel must release Dr. Abu Safiya and all health care workers, and ensure they have access to appropriate medical care," they said, urging the international community to act.
Gheed Qassem, Abu Safiya’s attorney, told AFP last year that she visited the 52-year-old pediatrician on March 19 at Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank.
“He is suffering greatly,” she said. “He is exhausted from the torture, the pressure and the humiliation he has endured to force him to confess to acts he did not commit.”
The Israeli military did not respond to AFP’s request for comment. Following his arrest during a Dec. 27 raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital – an operation Israel claimed targeted a Hamas “terrorist center” – Abu Safiya was held for two weeks at the Sde Teiman military base in the Negev desert. There, he was allegedly subjected to “beatings, mistreatment and torture” during interrogations, Qassem said.
He was later transferred to Ofer Prison, where he spent 25 days in a cramped cell and faced further questioning, according to the lawyer.
Qassem said Abu Safiya has been labeled an “illegal combatant” by Israeli authorities, allowing his indefinite detention under a law adopted in 2002 that applies to suspected members of “hostile forces.” His case has been classified as confidential, barring his legal team from accessing key documents.
Since the outbreak of the conflict on Oct. 7, 2023, Israel has detained around 5,000 Gazans, with some later released in hostage exchange deals.
