Kamal Adwan Hospital chief subjected to severe torture by 'Israel'
Dr. Husam Abu Safiya's family details the occupation forces' mistreatment of him, with hopes that he will be released soon as part of the coming captive-prisoner exchanges.
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A woman holds a sign that reads "Free Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, Free Gaza" during a protest in front of the Shin Bet offices, calling for his release, in Tel Aviv, occupied Palestine, on Wednesday, January 1, 2025. (AP)
Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, was subjected to "severe torture and mistreatment" by Israeli occupation forces following his detention from the hospital in late December, his family said.
Abu Safiya was held in solitary confinement for 24 days, before being transferred to Ofer Prison, his family said citing his lawyer, adding that while his health stabilized, he was suffering from chronic blood pressure and an enlarged heart muscle.
The family added that he is receiving treatment, however, he's being given only one meal a day of poor quality.
Dr. Hussam's legal case came out clean, with charges leveled against him failing to hold up on account of "Israel's" inability to produce corroborating evidence. His family added that his release should be imminent as part of the captive-prisoner exchanges between the occupation and Hamas.
Israeli forces detained Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya on December 27, 2024, after they raided Kamal Adwan Hospital, which was the last functional hospital in Northern Gaza, before detaining dozens of medical staff and forcibly displacing 300 patients.
Assault on Kamal Adwan Hospital
The Kamal Adwan Hospital was subject to several attacks and sieges by the IOF during its assault on northern Gaza, in an aggression that targeted the last functional healthcare facility in Northern Gaza as part of the Israeli plan to cleanse the northern part of the Strip ethnically.
In November, the hospital was under intense siege, with Israeli forces preventing the entry of food and medicine and blocking Civil Defense teams and ambulances from reaching the hospital to deliver injured individuals.
The hospital was subject to drone attacks in December that targeted medical staff with bombs filled with shrapnel, injuring many of them with several medical staff injured, some of them in critical condition and receiving treatment in the besieged hospital.
On December 21, the hospital came under heavy bombing by the IOF which caused severe damage to several departments including the children's care department and the nursery.
The IOF proceeded to raid the hospital on December 27, abducting patients and staff, and setting fire to several wards of the hospital, with the fire later spreading to other parts, followed by airstrikes in the hospital's vicinity.