A report by Al-Jazeera has shed light on the deteriorating health, torture and mistreatment of Palestinian detainees, with a particular focus on Dr. Husam Abu Safiya, a physician held in Israel’s Ofer Prison near Ramallah.
On June 24, Israeli prison guards stormed his cell, subjecting him to a half-hour of severe physical abuse, notably targeting his head.
Since his abduction in late December 2024, while he was working at Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, Dr. Abu Safiya has lost over 40 kilograms and suffered multiple medical setbacks. He was and later classified under Israel’s “Unlawful Combatant” statute.
Attorney Gheed Kasem, who visited him on July 9, said his weight has dropped from 100 to 60 kilograms.
He now suffers from irregular heart rhythms, and prison authorities have reportedly denied his requests for medical treatment and specialist evaluations.
In a Facebook post, Kassem wrote, “Dr. Hossam is still dressed in winter clothing amid conditions of starvation, isolation, and torture. He and all Palestinian prisoners are not okay.”
Ala’ Al-Skaafi, director of Ad-Dameer Foundation for Human Rights Foundation, confirmed to Al Jazeera that Dr. Abu Safiya is being held in poor condition, with limited food provisions and a lack of ventilation or hygiene supplies.
He emphasized that such treatment puts detainees at heightened risk of skin infections and other illnesses.
Skaafi said this law allows for indefinite detention without formal charges based on secret intelligence files. His legal team has filed an appeal, with a review hearing scheduled for early September.
Originally passed by Israel’s Knesset in 2002, the so-called “Unlawful Combatant Law” enables the indefinite detention of individuals deemed security threats, even outside Israel’s recognized borders. Since Israel’s 2005 disengagement from Gaza, the law has been used to detain Palestinians without trial.
Sources cited by Al-Jazeera report that families of detainees from Gaza have faced threats from Israeli intelligence services if they speak publicly about alleged torture, fueling a climate of fear and silence.
Human rights organizations continue to investigate the detention conditions of hundreds of Gazan prisoners; many of whom are held without charge and whose whereabouts remain undisclosed.
Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights, which is handling Dr. Abu Safiya’s case along with others, reported that mistreatment often begins at the moment of arrest, including forced nudity, physical beatings, and the use of detainees as human shields during military operations.
The center also highlighted harsh prison conditions: sleep deprivation, overcrowding, insufficient access to food and water, a lack of bedding, and the denial of regular visits from families and lawyers, all of which constitute forms of abuse under international law.
Since the beginning of the genocide in Gaza, thousands of Palestinians have been abducted, including medical staff, displaced individuals, and hospital patients.
Israeli occupation authorities have declined to disclose the total number of detainees, while reports of missing persons continue to rise, raising concerns of enforced disappearances.
Al-Mezan further revealed that Israel currently holds 362 healthcare workers in its prisons and has killed at least 1,580 medical personnel since the escalation of hostilities. Three doctors have reportedly died in custody.
It is worth mentioning that a documentary profiling Dr. Abu Safiya’s ordeal is set to air on Al-Jazeera 360 on July 17.
On Tuesday, Day 647 of the ongoing genocide in Gaza, and Day 118 since Israel violated the mediated ceasefire agreement on March 18, medical sources reported that at least seventy Palestinians were killed on Tuesday, 49 of them in Gaza City, as Israeli forces carried out airstrikes and shelling across the enclave. Among the victims were three civilians struck by a drone strike near Sha’ban Al-Rayyes School in the Tuffah neighborhood, east of the city.
Overall, since October 7, 2023, the death toll exceeds 58,479, among them more than 18,000 children, 10,190 women, and 257 journalists, with at least 11,000 still missing under rubble. Over 139,255 people, predominantly women and children, have been wounded across the Gaza Strip.
