From the Liveblog of
Friday, July 10, 2026
Israel says Hamas officer who heads Gaza hospital is ‘lawfully detained,’ not dying
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Israel says the detention of a Gaza hospital director and Hamas officer, who has been held since December 2024, was “lawful,” and rejected reports that he suffered a life-threatening condition.
Hussam Abu Safiya, one of the highest-profile Palestinian detainees, “is lawfully detained by Israel based on concrete intelligence,” Israel’s diplomatic mission in Geneva says on X.
“At no stage of his detention has he exhibited any indication of a life-threatening condition.”
Abu Safiya holds the rank of colonel in the Hamas Military Medical Services, according to the service itself and Palestinian media reports.
The pediatrician and director of Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital rose to prominence in 2024 by posting about the dire conditions in his besieged hospital in Beit Lahia during a major Israeli offensive. Human rights groups have called for his release.
Israel said Abu Safiya “managed Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, operating it as one of Hamas’s terror hubs. Abu Safiya exploited his position at the hospital to divert humanitarian resources intended for civilian needs towards terrorist purposes. He enabled Hamas terrorist activity against Israeli forces during IDF operations in Gaza, posing a direct threat to Israel’s national security.”
The statement comes after a United Nations investigative team and several UN rights experts this week raised an alarm about his case.
Four independent UN rights experts said in a statement on Tuesday that “Dr. Abu Safiya’s ongoing arbitrary detention without charges or trial is a reflection of Israel’s systematic targeting of Palestinian health workers.”
The UN’s independent Commission of Inquiry (CoI) on the rights situation in the Palestinian territories issued a separate statement on Wednesday voicing “grave concern at credible reports that Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya… has been subjected to continued and severe abuse” during his detention.
It called for his “immediate, unconditional and safe release.”
Israel says, however, that Abu Safiya’s “lawful detention is subject to regular administrative review and judicial oversight,” including by the Supreme Court last month.
The Israeli statement also says that “no indications were found to support the claims raised regarding his condition.”
Abu Safiya had been repeatedly examined by medical professionals, the statement says.
“He remains under continuous medical supervision and receives treatment in accordance with the professional determination of medical personnel,” the statement says.
The Times of Israel Community.