{"id":2792,"date":"2026-06-20T07:03:56","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T05:03:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antipropaganda.hu\/?p=2792"},"modified":"2026-06-20T07:03:56","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T05:03:56","slug":"egyetlen-bune-hogy-palesztin-orvos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antipropaganda.hu\/en\/egyetlen-bune-hogy-palesztin-orvos\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201eHis only crime is that he is a Palestinian doctor\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fourteen Gazan doctors remain in Israeli prisons without charge, and they say they are suffering particularly severe abuse.<\/b><\/p>\n

Written by: Shatha Yaish, June 17, 2026.<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

When a photo of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya emerged on June 10, it was one of the first signs of life his family had received since February 2025.<\/p>\n

The former director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, one of the most prominent Palestinian doctors detained by Israel during the Gaza genocide, appeared before the Israeli Supreme Court for a hearing on his continued detention. In a photo taken during the hearing, Abu Safiya appeared frail and visibly thinner than before his arrest, which took place during an Israeli army raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital in late December 2024.<\/p>\n

For his family, the picture was devastating.<\/p>\n

\u201eWe all started crying,\u201d his son, Elyas Abu Safiya, told +972 Magazine. \u201eWhen we saw the latest picture of my father during his trial, we didn\u2019t just see his face \u2013 we saw clear signs of torture.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201e"It's so painful to see your father like this, who dedicated his life to saving lives and treating patients," he continued. "I can't describe it. What must he be going through away from the cameras? If we've seen this in public, what's going on there?"\u201d<\/p>\n

Abu Safiya is one of 14 Palestinian doctors from Gaza currently being held without charge by Israel. In April, Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI) called for the doctors\u2019 release, saying they had been deprived of adequate food and medical care and subjected to physical abuse while in detention.<\/p>\n

On June 16, the Supreme Court rejected Abu Safiya\u2019s appeal, allowing Israel to continue to detain him under the \u201eUnlawful Combatants Detention Law.\u201d This law allows Israel to imprison people without charge or trial if there are \u201ereasonable grounds\u201d to believe they have engaged in \u201ehostile activity.\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya and Albina Abu Safiya with one of their grandchildren. (Courtesy of the family)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

His lawyer, Nasser Odeh, who visited Abu Safiya in late May, said the doctor \u201esuffers from chronic illnesses and is not receiving the necessary medication. The prison authorities have not provided him with adequate medical treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Odeh added that Abu Safiya was placed in solitary confinement on June 3. \u201eThe decision to isolate him appears to be punitive and was made after he filed an appeal,\u201d the lawyer said. \u201eOne of the main difficulties is the extremely limited legal process through which he could challenge his detention, as there are no formal charges against him and no indictment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201eHe is denied family visits, visits from the International Red Cross, and the opportunity to receive clothing from the outside,\u201d Odeh added.<\/p>\n

\u201eEvery doctor lost more than 20 kilos\u201d<\/h3>\n

PHRI, which filed a petition with the Supreme Court on April 30 on behalf of the 14 imprisoned doctors, stated that Israel \u201ehas arrested hundreds of essential health workers, effectively crippling an already fragile health system that is in constant disarray.\u201d<\/p>\n

Naji Abbas, director of the PHRI's Prisoners and Detainees Department, told +972 Magazine that in the past six weeks, the organization's lawyer has been able to meet with 10 doctors detained in Gaza, including Abu Safiya. Their testimonies are They show a pattern of abuse, starvation, and medical neglect.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201eThey all reported being denied medical treatment,\u201d Abbas said. \u201eThey all suffered from injuries caused by violence, and they all complained of hunger. Each doctor lost more than 20 kilograms.\u201d<\/p>\n

In one case, Abbas said, the doctor\u2019s condition was so serious that PHRI appealed to the Israel Prison Service. \u201eAfter our appeal, he was taken to a clinic where his weight was measured at 55 kilograms,\u201d Abbas said, more than 30 kilograms less than he weighed when he was arrested more than two years ago.<\/p>\n

The doctors, Abbas added, are almost completely cut off from the outside world. \u201eWe must note that Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya is not aware of the international campaign demanding his release because he is completely cut off from the outside world,\u201d Abbas said. \u201eThey cannot read newspapers, they cannot listen to the radio, and they cannot access any outside information. The only people they can communicate with are their lawyers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abbas believes the doctors' continued administrative detention is linked to what they witnessed during the Israeli attack on Gaza and what they may one day say publicly.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Israeli prison guards stand over a group of Palestinians detained in the Gaza Strip, at a prison in southern Israel, February 14, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg\/Flash90)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201eThe Israeli state is afraid of what they might say,\u201d he said. \u201eIt is afraid of the stories they will tell and the confessions they will make about what they have faced and what they have seen in these months.\u201d<\/p>\n

Recalling the words of one of the detained doctors, surgeon Dr. Ahmad Moussa, after a recent visit to PHRI, he pointed to the perseverance that has allowed many detained doctors to endure \u2013 and to remain potential witnesses to what is happening in Gaza and within the Israeli prison system: \u201eWhen we last met him, he said, \u2019I am adjusting to the pain. I am getting used to it. My question is: when will I be released?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Particularly harsh treatment<\/h3>\n

The abuse described by the doctors, Abbas said, is not just a general consequence of deteriorating prison conditions for all prisoners. In a previous PHRI report, based on the testimony of 21 detained health workers, doctors said they were particularly harshly treated once soldiers or prison guards discovered their profession.<\/p>\n

\u201eEach of the doctors described what we can call special treatment when the soldiers and the Israel Prison Service guards learned that they were doctors,\u201d Abbas said.<\/p>\n

\u201eFor example, one doctor said: he told an Israeli prison doctor, \u2019I\u2019m a doctor too. I\u2019m your colleague. You should treat me well.\u2019 The Israeli doctor responded with a slap in the face.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other doctors have reported similar experiences. \u201eDuring transfers between facilities, when soldiers or guards realized they were doctors, the beatings increased,\u201d Abbas said.<\/p>\n

Abbas said the pattern extended beyond health workers. \u201eOne doctor said that when they knew someone was a trained Palestinian, they beat them harder,\u201d he said. \u201eSo it wasn\u2019t just about the medical profession specifically \u2013 it was about being a trained Palestinian in general.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today, more than 1,300 Palestinians in Gaza are being held under the so-called Unlawful Combatants Law. Among them are minors, teachers, doctors, and nurses \u2013 all held without charge, based on allegations that have been distorted by propaganda and media reports.<\/p>\n

One case that was pointed to as emblematic of the law's absurdity was that of Fahamiya Al-Khali: an 82-year-old Palestinian woman from Gaza suffering from Alzheimer's disease who was held for more than seven weeks in Israel's Damon prison under the same classification.<\/p>\n

\u201eThat is why I emphasize that the name of the law does not reflect what is happening in reality,\u201d Abbas said. \u201eIn practice, it functions as another form of administrative detention \u2013 where Palestinians are held for long periods of time without being formally charged.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the family of Dr. Ahmad Moussa, who was arrested from Nasser Hospital in February 2024, this uncertainty has defined every day since his detention.<\/p>\n

\u201eI saw him three days before his arrest and warned him about what happened at Al-Shifa Hospital,\u201d his brother, Ashraf Moussa, told +972. \u201eI told him, \u2019I was afraid of you,\u2019 but he insisted on staying there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201e"We had no information about him for an extremely long time. We didn't know anything for a whole year. Then we started hearing conflicting news until finally a lawyer was able to visit and reassure us."\u201d<\/p>\n

The family has since learned that Moussa is being held in Israel's Ketziot prison. A lawyer who visited him about 10 days ago, Ashraf said, reported that Moussa had broken ribs and skin conditions.<\/p>\n

\u201eBefore his arrest, he weighed about 110 kilograms,\u201d Ashraf said. \u201eAccording to the lawyer, he weighs about 70 kilograms now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201eWe haven\u2019t spoken to him at all. What we\u2019ve heard from the people who have been released is that the conditions are catastrophic and that torture is taking place,\u201d he continued. \u201eThere are no charges. He has not been charged. His only crime is that he is a Palestinian doctor.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tizenn\u00e9gy g\u00e1zai orvos maradt izraeli b\u00f6rt\u00f6n\u00f6kben v\u00e1demel\u00e9s n\u00e9lk\u00fcl; elmond\u00e1suk szerint k\u00fcl\u00f6n\u00f6sen s\u00falyos b\u00e1ntalmaz\u00e1s \u00e9ri \u0151ket. \u00cdrta: Shatha Yaish, 2026. j\u00fanius 17. Amikor j\u00fanius 10-\u00e9n megjelent egy f\u00e9nyk\u00e9p Dr. Hussam Abu Safiy\u00e1r\u00f3l, az egyike volt az els\u0151 \u00e9letjeleknek, amelyet csal\u00e1dja 2025 febru\u00e1rja \u00f3ta kapott. A Kamal Adwan K\u00f3rh\u00e1z volt igazgat\u00f3ja, aki az egyik legkiemelked\u0151bb palesztin orvos, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2796,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rs_blank_template":"","rs_page_bg_color":"","slide_template_v7":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"wpai_generated_summary":"","tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[31,34,26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-izrael-igazi-arca","category-kikicsoda","category-tiszteljuk-oket"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/antipropaganda.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2792","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/antipropaganda.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/antipropaganda.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antipropaganda.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antipropaganda.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2792"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/antipropaganda.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2792\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antipropaganda.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2796"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/antipropaganda.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antipropaganda.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antipropaganda.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}