Khaberni - The family of the doctor imprisoned by the occupation, Hossam Abu Safiya, has grown increasingly concerned following the Israeli Knesset's passage of the prisoner execution law, especially with the serious deterioration in his health due to ongoing torture since his arrest in December 2024.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Mohammad Abu Safiya, the brother of the detained doctor, shared the family's fears of their son facing retaliation from the occupation and his execution under the recent law as a punishment for his resilience and refusal to abandon his patients, which eventually led to his arrest.
According to Mohammad, the imprisoned doctor is suffering from serious health deterioration, with 4 fractures in his rib cage from torture, and has lost 40 kilograms due to malnutrition and beating, in addition to suffering from weakened vision.
The family is unaware of the fate of their imprisoned son, and Mohammad states that the occupation considers him an illegitimate fighter, but he was arrested from a hospital, not a military site, and he was unarmed, simply performing his duties as a doctor.
In a video segment from Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, he added that the Israeli occupation is feeling out the world's reaction to the prisoner execution law, and he says that the world has not cared and has not done anything to save Doctor Abu Safiya.
The Israeli occupation forces detained Abu Safiya—who served as the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in the Gaza Strip—after storming the hospital in the early hours of 27 December 2024, forcing the staff and patients to evacuate forcibly, burned parts of it, and then took Abu Safiya in his white medical attire.
The detention of the Palestinian doctor has been extended multiple times, the last being on 16 October 2025 for an additional 6 months, and he is considered an "illegitimate fighter" by Israel.
Ongoing Suffering
Doctor Abu Safiya emerged as a pediatrician and neonatologist, then as director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia since February 2024, at a time when the health system in Gaza began to stagger under the blows of the Israeli aggression and the crippling blockade.
In the face of his humanitarian duty, Doctor Abu Safiya paid a heavy price; in addition to being detained, his son Ibrahim was killed on 26 October 2024 during an Israeli bombardment targeting the vicinity of Kamal Adwan Hospital, in one of the most severe moments for the family and medical staff, and he himself was later injured during repeated attacks on the facility.
It is noteworthy that the Israeli Knesset approved at the end of last month, with 62 deputies in favor, 48 opposed, and one abstaining, the law for the execution of Palestinian prisoners.
According to the law’s terms, Israel can apply the death penalty to any Palestinian who kills an Israeli citizen, but in no case can it be applied to an Israeli who kills a Palestinian.
