The unknown fate of Kamal Adwan Hospital Director
Hussam Abu Safia, a Palestinian doctor and director of the key Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip, was arrested following the recent Israeli army raid on the hospital and its evacuation.
There is no reliable information about the fate of this Palestinian doctor, and his fate is shrouded in uncertainty, which has increased concerns about his condition.
Who is Abu Safia?
Hussam Abu Safia, a 51-year-old Palestinian doctor, was arrested last Friday during an Israeli army raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza; the Israeli army has not provided information about his whereabouts.
Born in the Jabalia Palestinian refugee camp in northern Gaza in November 1973, Abu Safia is a well-known pediatrician in the Gaza healthcare system.
In 1948, the family of this Palestinian physician was evicted by force from Ashkelon's Hamama.
Abu Safiya continued to treat the sick and injured at the last operational hospital in northern Gaza after the Israeli army's devastating siege of the region on October 5, 2024, despite orders to evacuate Kamal Adwan Hospital.
Since late October 2024, the Israeli army has increased its attacks on Kamal Adwan Hospital, leading to the arrest of 44 hospital employees, including Abu Safiya. He claimed that after hours of questioning during his arrest, he was finally allowed to leave.
The son of this Palestinian doctor was martyred in an Israeli army drone attack on Kamal Adwan Hospital; Abu Safiya himself conducted his son’s funeral in the hospital courtyard; Accusing the Israeli army of killing his son, he said that they took this action to punish him for ignoring the order to evacuate the hospital.
By refusing to leave the hospital despite the Israeli army's orders to do so, Abu Safiya and a number of other medical professionals alerted the world to the Israeli army's nearly daily attacks on Kamal Adwan Hospital and, through the release of video statements, urged the international community to step in and put an end to this crime.
On November 23, Abu Safiya was hurt while leaving the operating room when shrapnel from Israeli army drones struck the hospital. He ignored the six shrapnel wounds that ruptured the veins in his leg and carried on treating patients and injured people.
Regarding this, the Palestinian physician stated: "This will not stop us; I was injured at work and it is an honor; my blood is not more valuable than the blood of my colleagues or the people we serve."
Abu Safiya’s fate unknown
The Israeli army announced the arrest of Abu Safiya on Saturday and refused to disclose his whereabouts; the Israeli regime made repeated and unsubstantiated claims against Abu Safiya that it had previously made about other hospitals and doctors in Gaza.
The Israeli army did not provide any evidence for its claims and the accusations leveled against Abu Safiya.
The Palestinian doctor's family has not received a response to their request to know where he is being held.
Following Abu Safiya’s arrest by the Israeli army, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that it had lost contact with Abu Safiya after the Israeli attack.
Israeli forces severely beat Abu Safiya with batons and sticks, stripped him naked, and made him wear prison clothes, according to Munir al-Barsh, director general of the Gaza Health Ministry.
Abu Safiya has been detained by Israeli troops during the Israeli army's genocidal campaign in northern Gaza for the second time in recent months.
Has Abu Safiya been transferred to Sidi Timan?
According to CNN, which cited Palestinian inmates freed from the infamous Zionist Reem detention facility near Gaza, known as Sidi Timan, Abu Safiya had been moved to the prison.
An 18-year-old Palestinian prisoner who was recently released from Sidi Timan stated: "I know Abu Safiya; he was transferred to Sidi Timan on Saturday."
The Palestinian prisoner, who was arrested 43 days ago on his way home and was recently released, said: "I know Dr. Abu Safia and a medical team from Kamal Adwan Hospital has been brought to Sidi Timan; all of them are detained; the Israelis treated the doctors in particular very badly."
Abu Safia's family, referring to reports of the history of crimes committed by the Zionist military against Palestinian prisoners in Sidi Timan, said that the thought of his presence in this notorious prison is painful for them.
The MedGlobal Institute, which introduced Abu Safia as the top doctor in Gaza, said: "We are concerned about this doctor who is the savior of northern Gaza."
The president and co-founder of MedGlobal and a close associate of Abu Safia, stated:” We call for Dr. Abu Safia's immediate and unconditional release because he has dedicated his life to safeguarding the lives and health of children in Gaza and has endured conditions that no medical professional should have to go through. His arrest is also unlawful, as it violates international humanitarian law."