December 27th, 2025 marks one year of imprisonment without charge for the famous Palestinian doctor Hussam Abu Safiya.
He was kidnapped on 27 December 2024 after Israeli forces raided Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza and destroyed the facility. He is being held under Israel’s “illegal combatant” law, which allows administrative detention without charge or trial.
An Israeli court in Beersheba extended his detention for six months in March 2025 and again in October 2025 for an additional six months. As of December 2025, approaching the first anniversary of his detention, he remains in custody without release despite the ceasefire agreements.
He has been subjected to torture and ill-treatment, losing significant weight (around 40 kilograms by mid-2025).
He suffers from severe health deterioration, including pre-existing heart problems, high blood pressure, vision impairment, and scabies, without adequate medical treatment or specialized examinations.
International efforts called for his release on this anniversary marking a full year of his captivity:
The Palestinian Forum in Britain launched the “Red Ribbons Campaign” to call for the release of Dr Hussam Abu Safiya and all Palestinian detainees held in Israeli prisons.
The silent, peaceful solidarity action took place on Saturday, 20 December, at 1:00 pm in Oxford Circus, central London. Participants hung red ribbons and display posters conveying humanitarian demands for freedom and justice.
A demonstration was also held in Stockholm, Sweden, demanding the release of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya.
In an article on Middle East Monitor, writer Adnan Hmidan describes Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya as “hostage of the year for 2025”, and said that if the world is truly honest in showing truth, it would consider Dr. Abu Safiya as the symbol for victims of crimes that can’t be hidden because his abduction was designed to be seen.
Dr. Abu Safiya, a senior Palestinian physician and hospital director in Gaza, was taken directly from his workplace. He was wearing his medical gown. A tank stood where an ambulance should have been.
The scene was not chaotic; it was deliberate. This was not an arrest carried out quietly under legal pretence. It was a detention operation conducted openly, confidently, and without fear of consequence.
Previous reports on Dr. Abu Safiya’s illegal capture and subsequent torture by Israeli forces:
July 2025: Al-Jazeera Reveals Torture of Dr. Abu Safiya
July 2025: Report: Imprisoned Doctor Has Lost 1/3 of Body Weight
February 2025: Palestinian Health Ministry Demands Immediate Release Of Medical Staff
December 2024: Gaza: Day 450 – Israeli Assault Continues; Bombings in Northern & Southern Gaza
December 2024: Day 449 – 48 Killed as Israeli Military Continues its Genocidal Campaign (Includes report of Dr. Abu Safiya’s abduction from Kamal Adwan Hospital)
November 2024: Day 395: Israel Executing Medical Staff at Kamal Adwan Hospital
March 2024: Israeli forces kill 112 Gazans in “flour massacre” (Dr. Abu Safiya is quoted in this article after treating hundreds of victims in the Kamal Adwan Hospital)
