Israeli NGO says jailed Gaza hospital director suffering mistreatment, medical neglect

An Israeli rights group says a prominent Gaza doctor and hospital director held in an Israeli jail has faced harsh mistreatment and medical neglect, warning his health is deteriorating.

Physicians for Human Rights–Israel (PHRI) says Hossam Abu Safiyeh, head of Kamal Adwan Hospital until last year, was being kept in “harsh detention conditions” without legal proceedings.

Abu Safiyeh was detained after Israeli troops raided his hospital in December 2024.

The army later said he was suspected of “being a Hamas operative,” but has informed him of no charges, according to the group.

PHRI says its lawyer visited him today at Ofer prison, north of Jerusalem in the West Bank, reporting that he had lost around 25 kilograms (55 pounds) since his arrest due to insufficient food.

The group also says he has been subjected to violence during cell searches and was denied treatment for scabies despite repeated requests.

Human rights groups have repeatedly warned of difficult conditions in Israeli jails, including scabies outbreaks. Several NGOs petitioned Israel’s supreme court last year seeking to stop the spread of the contagious skin condition in jails.

PHRI further said that since March, Abu Safiyeh “has not been brought before a judge, has not been interrogated, and has received no information about the grounds for his detention.”

Israel’s prison service has not responded to an AFP request for comment.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has previously called for the “immediate release” of the hospital director.

Rights group Amnesty International had echoed the call, saying Abu Safiyeh had been the “voice of Gaza’s decimated health sector.”