Gaza Doctor Abu Safiya Nears Death After 18 Months in Israeli Detention

Q: What secret evidence justifies holding a top Gaza doctor as an unlawful combatant?

The public record does not show what the secret evidence is. Israel’s Supreme Court said it upheld Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya’s detention under the Unlawful Combatants Law on the basis of “confidential materials” that were not disclosed to him or his lawyers, so the specific proof justifying his continued imprisonment cannot be independently assessed. What is known is Israel’s stated allegation: the IDF says Abu Safiya was detained for suspected involvement in terrorist activity, for allegedly holding a rank in Hamas, and in the context of claims that Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives were present inside Kamal Adwan Hospital while he was its director. Outside government, NGO Monitor’s Gerald Steinberg has claimed there is visual evidence of Abu Safiya with Hamas military leaders and has alleged he was a Hamas “colonel,” but those assertions have not been publicly tested in court. That leaves a sharp gap between accusation and verifiable evidence. Abu Safiya, his family, his lawyer, medical colleagues, aid workers and rights groups deny he worked for Hamas and say he was a pediatrician and hospital director targeted without due process. Critics argue that because the evidence remains secret, neither the defense nor the public can evaluate its credibility, context or sufficiency. So the short answer is that the justification is said to be classified intelligence alleging Hamas ties, but the substance of that intelligence remains undisclosed.

3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jul 6

2 July prison visit findings showed Hussam Abu Safiya barely able to breathe, speak or sit upright after transfer to Rakefet prison, with his lawyer warning his life is in immediate danger.
Daily beatings in Rakefet and an earlier assault with hammers and batons at Ganot drove the deterioration, according to Abu Safiya and lawyer Nasser Odeh; Israel's prison service called the allegations false.
24 June marked his move to the underground Rakefet facility, where detainees reportedly never see daylight and suffer choking in overcrowded, unventilated cells; rights groups are demanding his release and an independent medical exam.
A 4-month-old West Bank baby died Sunday after soldiers allegedly blocked his family from reaching a waiting ambulance, a case PHRI cited alongside Abu Safiya's detention as part of a wider assault on Palestinians' access to healthcare.