Khaberni - The American "CNN" network reported that Israel will not release the prominent Palestinian doctors Hossam Abu Safia and Marwan Al-Hamss as part of a prisoner exchange deal.
The network reported that "a source in Hamas stated to them that Israel informed the mediators that it will not release two prominent doctors who were arrested during the war, Abu Safia and Al-Hamss".
Abu Safia and Al-Hamss are among the most prominent figures in the healthcare sector in Gaza, and their arrest has sparked international condemnation and calls from human rights organizations for their immediate release.
Abu Safia was arrested in December of last year, while Al-Hamss was arrested in July of this year.
Doctor Abu Safia was the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza.
Israeli forces stormed Kamal Adwan Hospital, which was then the only remaining service hospital in northern Gaza. They arrested Doctor Abu Safia along with other members of the medical staff and patients, and he was taken out under gun threat after the hospital was destroyed and removed from service.
Human rights organizations have reported that Doctor Abu Safia has been subjected to very poor treatment and medical neglect, warning of a further deterioration in his health condition.
Before his arrest by Israeli forces, Doctor Al-Hamss held important positions in the healthcare sector in Gaza, including Director of Abu Youssef Al-Najjar Hospital in Rafah, Director of Field Hospitals, and also the official spokesperson for the Ministry of Health.
On the day of his arrest, Doctor Al-Hamss was on a work assignment visiting the International Committee of the Red Cross hospital in the Al-Mawasi area west of Khan Younis, where he was kidnapped by a special Israeli force, resulting in the death of a journalist and injuring the accompanying ambulance driver.
In August 2025, the World Health Organization reported that it has documented 720 attacks on health facilities in Gaza since the beginning of the war in October 2023.
