Joint Statement with the Palestinian Student Association Nablus (PMSA)
Some people save lives because it is their profession.
Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya saved lives because he refused to abandon his people.
As hospitals across Gaza came under repeated attack and essential medical services collapsed, Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya remained at Kamal Adwan Hospital, caring for patients under unimaginable conditions. He continued treating children despite the destruction of the healthcare system, the killing of colleagues, the depletion of medical supplies, and the devastating loss of his own son. While others fled for safety, he stayed beside his patients, believing that no child should be left without care. His unwavering commitment embodied the very essence of medical ethics: to preserve life, even when his own was at risk.
Today, the physician who devoted his life to protecting others remains in Israeli detention.
For more than eighteen months, Dr. Abu Safiya has been held without charge or trial while his body and spirit have been systematically broken. According to his lawyer and documented reports from human rights organizations, he has lost nearly 40 kilograms, suffered fractured ribs, sustained repeated injuries to his head, face, neck, and ears, and endured prolonged solitary confinement. He reportedly struggles to breathe, is too weak to remain seated for long, and has repeatedly lost consciousness during legal visits. Despite his rapidly deteriorating condition and urgent need for medical treatment, he continues to be denied adequate healthcare.
His lawyer further reports that Dr. Abu Safiya has been subjected to repeated beatings, including assaults with batons and a hammer following court appearances, leaving him with visible injuries and severe physical deterioration. During one legal visit, he reportedly stated, “They brought me here to kill me,” adding that he no longer recognized himself.
These are not simply allegations of ill-treatment. They paint the picture of a physician who dedicated his life to healing others, now being deprived of the very care he once fought tirelessly to provide. Every passing day without proper medical treatment places his life at even greater risk.
His case extends far beyond the detention of a single doctor. It is the persecution of a Palestinian physician whose only “crime” was refusing to abandon his patients as Gaza’s healthcare system was being devastated. It raises profound concerns about the protection of Palestinian healthcare workers, the sanctity of medical neutrality, and the right to health during war. When a doctor who spent his life saving children is reportedly tortured, denied medical care, and left fearing for his own life, the assault is not only against one individual; it is against the very principles that safeguard healthcare in times of war.
As the Standing Committee on Human Rights and Peace (SCORP), we reaffirm that healthcare workers must never be targeted, intimidated, arbitrarily detained, tortured, or punished for carrying out their humanitarian duty. Hospitals are places of healing, not battlefields. Physicians, nurses, paramedics, and all medical personnel must be protected in accordance with international humanitarian law, and all detainees must have immediate access to adequate medical care.
We call for:
- The immediate release of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya.
- Immediate and unrestricted access to the medical care he urgently requires.
- The protection of all Palestinian healthcare workers and healthcare facilities.
- Accountability for violations committed against medical personnel and the healthcare system in Gaza.
History bears witness to those who choose to protect life, even in humanity’s darkest moments.
It also bears witness to those who remain silent while those who save lives are imprisoned, tortured, and denied the care they once dedicated their own lives to providing.
History will remember Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya as a physician who chose his patients over his own safety. It will also remember how the world responded as he was reportedly tortured, denied medical care, and left fighting for his life behind prison walls.