UN inquiry urges release of Gaza doctor held by Israel since December 2024

A United Nations inquiry on Wednesday expressed concern at reports of abuse against a prominent Palestinian doctor seized by the Israeli military in Gaza in December 2024, who is still being held in Israel.

The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, called for the immediate release of Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in the Gaza Strip.

Rights groups and Abu Safiya’s lawyer have said his life is in imminent danger, and he continues to be held without charge, according to the Physicians for Human Rights Israel, an Israeli rights group.

“The actions of the Israeli Prison Service guards towards Palestinian detainees raise grave concerns of violations of international law that likely amount to international crimes.

“Dr Abu Safiya’s medical condition is the direct result of these actions,” the UN inquiry said in a statement.

An Israel Prison Service (IPS) spokesperson said on Wednesday, “The allegations and characterisations described are false, outrageous, and entirely without factual basis.”

The spokesperson did not name Abu Safiya, but the IPS has previously rejected allegations that he and other doctors have been mistreated in prison.

On Monday, Abu Safiya’s lawyer alleged that his health was in danger and that he had been subjected to abuse daily.

In June, Abu Safiya attended a Supreme Court hearing in Jerusalem via video link and appeared noticeably thinner in the face and around his abdomen.

The UN inquiry said the reported conduct of the Israeli authorities towards Abu Safiya reflects a broader pattern of violations that it identified in previous reports.

In September 2025, it said the Israeli authorities had committed genocide by targeting the healthcare system and medical professionals in Gaza since October 2023, an accusation that Israel described as scandalous.

Israel has accused the inquiry of having a political agenda against the country and of diverging from its mandate while declining to cooperate with it.

On Monday, a separate UN rights body called Israel’s detention of Abu Safiya arbitrary and called for his immediate release.

In its finding, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention said Israel’s actions contravened multiple articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. ...