Israel Acknowledges Detention of Gaza Hospital Leader Abu Safiya

Israel has acknowledged that it is holding Gaza hospital administrator Dr Hussam Abu Safiya after previously informing a local NGO that it was unaware of his situation, raising concerns about his safety.

The statement from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) indicated that he was “currently under investigation by Israeli security forces” in person.

The announcement did not clarify the misunderstanding but reiterated that he was suspected of being a “terrorist” and for “holding a position” within Hamas, the militant Palestinian organization engaged in conflict with Israel in Gaza.

Dr Abu Safiya was apprehended as the Israeli military compelled patients and medical personnel to vacate Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gaza last Friday, asserting that the establishment was a “Hamas terrorist hub”.

On Thursday, the IDF informed Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI) that it had “no evidence of the arrest or detention of the individual in question”.

The PHRI submitted a petition to the Israeli High Court of Justice on Thursday, requesting that Dr Abu Safiya’s whereabouts be made known. They stated that the court had mandated the IDF to comply within a week.

Meanwhile, Amnesty’s director Agnès Callamard asserted that Israeli authorities must “immediately reveal his location”.

She pointed out that Israel had detained “hundreds of Palestinian healthcare professionals from Gaza without charges or trials” and claimed these individuals had been “subjected to torture and other ill-treatment and held in incommunicado detention”.

Israel refutes allegations of mistreatment of detainees.

Dr Abu Safiya’s relatives previously informed BBC Arabic that they suspect he is being held at Sde Teiman military base in southern Israel, where many detainees from Gaza have been taken for questioning.

Whistleblowers have previously reported to the BBC and other global media about extremely severe conditions for detainees there. Israel claims that all detainees are kept “in a careful and proper manner”.

The IDF instructed everyone within Kamal Adwan hospital to evacuate last Friday morning, allowing the hospital roughly 15 minutes to transfer patients and staff into the courtyard, medical personnel reported to the BBC.

Beit Lahia, the location of the hospital, has been under an intensifying Israeli blockade imposed on certain areas of northern Gaza since October. The UN has stated that the region has been under “near-total siege” as the Israeli military significantly limits access to aid deliveries in a zone where an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 individuals remain.

On Saturday, the IDF claimed it detained 240 militants at Kamal Adwan and confirmed that Dr Abu Safiya was among the medical personnel taken for interrogation.

Video recordings captured him approaching an Israeli armoured vehicle prior to being taken for questioning. An Israeli military spokesperson verified the arrest on the same day, stating that the doctor had been moved for interrogation.

Dr Abu Safiya was apprehended previously by Israeli troops during another incursion at the hospital in October, but was quickly released. In that operation by Israel, Dr Abu Safiya’s 15-year-old son lost his life in a drone strike. Footage from later that day depicted him conducting funeral prayers for his son in the hospital courtyard.

Israeli strikes on Gaza’s medical facilities have drawn rising condemnation.

On Tuesday, the UN Human Rights Office stated that Israeli assaults on and around hospitals have driven Gaza’s healthcare system to “the brink of total collapse” and raised significant alarms concerning war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Israel’s mission in Geneva asserted that its armed forces operated in accordance with international law and would “never target innocent civilians”.

Israel initiated a campaign to dismantle Hamas in retaliation for the group’s unprecedented assault on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, which resulted in around 1,200 fatalities and the hostage-taking of 251 individuals.

Since then, over 45,580 individuals have perished in Gaza, according to the region’s health ministry.