UN inquiry urges immediate release of detained Gaza doctor

A United Nations inquiry has called for the immediate release of a prominent Palestinian doctor detained by Israeli forces in Gaza, expressing grave concern over reports of abuse that have placed his life in imminent danger. Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in the Gaza Strip, was seized in December 2024 and has been held without charge or trial for over 18 months.

The U.N. Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory stated that the reported conduct of Israeli authorities toward Abu Safiya reflects a broader pattern of violations. It said his medical condition is the direct result of actions by Israeli Prison Service guards that raise grave concerns of violations of international law, likely amounting to international crimes. A separate U.N. rights body, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, declared his detention arbitrary and a violation of multiple articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Abu Safiya's lawyer, Nasser Odeh, reported a severe and dangerous deterioration in the doctor's condition following his transfer to the...