JERUSALEM

Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, appeared with his both hands and feet shackled, for the first time since his arrest by Israeli forces last December.

On Wednesday evening, Israeli media broadcast a video showing Abu Safiya visibly exhausted and weakened as he was escorted by prison guards.

Abu Safiya is regarded as one of the most prominent doctors who continued working under Israeli bombardment to save the wounded Palestinians in northern Gaza.  

Among ruins and military vehicles 

In late December, Israeli forces stormed Kamal Adwan Hospital, arrested Abu Safiya at gunpoint, and destroyed the hospital, rendering it non-functional. 

His arrest sparked widespread condemnation, especially after an image circulated of him walking alone amid the ruins, dressed in his medical coat, surrounded by Israeli military vehicles—a scene that became an icon of Palestinian resilience. 

According to his family, Abu Safiya was subjected to severe torture and starvation inside Israeli prisons, a claim confirmed by a lawyer who recently visited him. 

A statement by the Palestinian Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights said on Friday that Yaron Finkelman, the head of the Israeli army's Southern Command, issued an order on Feb. 12 to detain Abu Safiya, 52, under the “unlawful combatant law” instead of conducting a “standard legal trial.” 

The NGO said its lawyer visited Abu Safiya at Ofer Prison on Feb. 11 and documented evidence that he had been subjected to torture and ill-treatment.  

 First public appearance  

Israeli journalist Yossi Eli, a correspondent for Israel’s Channel 13, posted a video of Abu Safiya from Ofer Prison, located in Beitunia, west of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. 

Eli denied claims that Abu Safiya had been tortured, stating: "We met him at Ofer Prison, and he is in excellent condition." 

According to the Israeli journalist, Abu Safiya told him that there were Israeli prisoners in his hospital, and “he was taking care of them.” 

In the video, Abu Safiya is seen shackled and escorted by prison guards. 

On Dec. 28, 2024, the Gaza Health Ministry announced that the Israeli army had arrested Abu Safiya in northern Gaza. 

A day before his arrest, Israeli forces stormed Kamal Adwan Hospital, set it on fire, rendered it inoperable, and arrested over 350 people inside, including Abu Safiya, whose image in a white medical coat amid the destruction sparked Arab and international outrage.   

A heavy price

As the Israeli genocide in Gaza escalated, Abu Safiya paid a heavy personal price—his son, Ibrahim, was killed during the Israeli military's raid on the hospital on Oct. 26, 2024. 

On Nov. 24, 2024, Abu Safiya was wounded in an Israeli airstrike targeting the hospital, yet he refused to leave and continued treating the wounded and sick. 

Since the beginning of the genocide in Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, the Israeli military has systematically targeted Gaza’s health care system—bombing and besieging hospitals, ordering evacuations, and blocking medical supplies, particularly in northern Gaza. 

A ceasefire and prisoner swap agreement in Gaza took effect on Jan. 19, suspending Israel’s genocidal war that has killed nearly 48,300 Palestinians and left the enclave in ruins. 

Last November The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. 

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.