'When am I going home?' Prominent Palestinian doctor detained in Israel for nearly 16 months without charges
Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya was arrested in December 2024.
It was a photo shared on social media that captured the attention of millions: a Palestinian doctor in northern Gaza walking toward an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) tank, seemingly unfazed by the surrounding rubble and decimated buildings.
The doctor, Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, ultimately climbed into the armored vehicle. It was one of the last images taken of him.
Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, has been held in Israel for more than 500 days. No formal charges have been filed against him and no trial has been held.
"Hussam Abu Safiya was apprehended for suspected involvement in terrorist activities, and for holding a rank in the Hamas terror organization, while hundreds of Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists were hiding inside the Kamal Adwan Hospital under his management," the IDF told ABC News in a statement.
The doctor, his family and advocates have denied he is a member of Hamas or that he has engaged in terrorist activities.
The IDF has repeatedly claimed that Hamas has turned hospitals into "hubs of terror" and that Kamal Adwan was used as a "major terrorist stronghold." Gaza's Ministry of Health and Hamas have denied these allegations.
On Tuesday, Israel's Supreme Court rejected an appeal to release Abu Safiya.
Human rights groups have called for the immediate and unconditional release of Abu Safiya amid reports that he has been denied food and proper medical care and has been subjected to abuse. The Israel Prison Service called the allegations "false" and said it "rejects allegations of abuse, starvation, or denial of medical treatment."
At least 15 Palestinian healthcare workers, including Abu Safiya, are currently being held inside Israel, according to Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI), a nonprofit human rights organization partly representing Abu Safiya. Some human rights experts have said that detaining such a high-ranking and high-profile doctor has left a chilling effect.
"His case, I think, represents the challenges that Palestinian healthcare workers face," Omar Shakir, executive director of DAWN, a nonprofit organization that advocates for democracy and human rights in the Middle East, told ABC News. "So, every aspect of his case, from the way that he was detained while doing his job to the due process violations ... to his mistreatment to being held without trial or charge under this abuse of law, I think embodies both the mistreatment and unjust detention of healthcare workers."
Treating patients during war
The Israel-Hamas war began when Hamas launched a surprise terrorist attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Israel responded by declaring war.
Over 14 months, Safiya -- a pediatrician by training -- became one of the most prominent voices in Gaza, speaking out on social media about the strip's collapsing healthcare system. He documented the struggle to keep his hospital open despite multiple sieges. By March 2024, Kamal Adwan was the only pediatrics hospital in the north of Gaza, according to the World Health Organization.
In early October 2024, Abu Safiya spoke to ABC News about the services being offered and patients being served at Kamal Adwan.
At the time, the hospital was one of three in northern Gaza that was reportedly being ordered to evacuate by Israeli forces, putting medical staff and patients at risk, Abu Saifya said.
His son, 28-year-old Elyas, recently spoke to ABC News and said his father believed it was important to raise awareness about the conditions inside Gaza.
"My father is not just a doctor, but he was a citizen journalist and knew how important journalism was to show the truth and what is really going on inside Kamal Adwan Hospital," Elyas told ABC News in Arabic.
He went on, "My father believed that international pressure was the only hope left ... he thought [posting on social media] was the only way he could get the help he needed for the innocent children at Kamal Adwan Hospital."
During the war, Elyas said his father would be in the hospital working when a missile or projectile would strike nearby. After the impact, the doctor would go out and try to find children trapped under the rubble, according to Elyas.
Elyas said his father suffered his own hardships during the war. In October 2024, his 15-year-old son, Ibrahim -- Elyas' brother -- was killed in an Israeli drone strike at the entrance of Kamal Adwan, according to the family.
"Because we were sending a humanitarian message, our children were killed and I buried my son in the hospital yard," Abu Safiya said in a video posted on social media a couple of days later.
Then, in November 2024, Abu Safiya was reportedly injured in his office during an Israeli quadcopter strike, resulting in shrapnel injuries to his thigh and back that caused serious bleeding, according to the humanitarian NGO MedGlobal.
Abu Safiya, however, continued to treat patients, according to Elyas, calling his father a "hero." Then came the doctor's arrest.
"In one moment, everything changed," Elyas said. "The imprisonment of my father wasn't a fleeting moment, it was a shock and it destroyed our lives. Our lives have become hell. Our life without my father has become hell."
Arrest, transfer to different prisons
Naji Abbas, director of the prisoners and detainees department at PHRI, the group that is part of Abu Safiya's legal representation, told ABC News that the doctor was arrested on Dec. 27, 2024.
After the arrest, Abu Safiya's whereabouts were unknown and the group tried to track him down.
"We reached out a day or two after his arrest to the Israeli army demanding to locate him, to know where he's being held," Abbas said. "And the surprising, ridiculous answer that we got [is], 'No indication that Dr. Hussam was arrested.' That was an official response we got."
Abbas said that after 10 days, Israeli forces revealed Abu Safiya was being held in a detention facility inside Israel.
Abbas said Abu Safiya was first held in Sde Teiman detention center, in the Negev desert and then in Ofer Prison in the West Bank.
In February 2026, Abu Safiya was moved to Nafha Prison in the Negev desert, according to Abbas, then Ktzi'ot Prison. PHRI said earlier this month it received reports that Abu Safiya had been transferred to Ramon Prison, also in the Negev desert, and placed in solitary confinement.
In the last nearly 16 months, no formal charges have been filed and no formal trial has taken place, according to PHRI.
The IDF did not tell ABC News whether any formal charges have been filed.
'When am I going home?'
Abbas said that Abu Safiya has lost 20 kilograms (44 pounds) and was denied access to high blood pressure medication for at least two months until PHRI and his private attorney appealed.
Elyas said his father did not have high blood pressure before his detainment and developed the condition while imprisoned.
Abu Safiya also had his eyeglasses confiscated during his detainment and since been experiencing vision issues, according to Abbas.
"When our lawyers met him in September 2025, Dr. Hussam was a little bit pleased in the visit because it was the first time in nine months that he got clean clothes," Abbas said.
He also said the doctor has reported being a victim of violence from Israeli guards, including beatings. The IDF has previously denied reports that Abu Safiya -- or any of the healthcare workers currently held -- is being mistreated.
In a statement to ABC News, a spokesperson for the Israel Prison Service said the allegations are "false and entirely without factual basis."
"Due to privacy obligations and security considerations, the Israel Prison Service does not provide information regarding the identity, detention status, place of detention, transfer history, medical condition or personal details of specific prisoners or detainees," the statement read, in part.
"The Israel Prison Service is a law enforcement and security organization that operates in accordance with the law and under the strict oversight of the courts and numerous official supervisory bodies," the statement continued. "All prisoners and detainees are held in accordance with the law and receive medical care based on professional medical judgment and in accordance with Ministry of Health guidelines. The Israel Prison Service rejects allegations of abuse, starvation, or denial of medical treatment."
During one of the most recent visits in May, Abbas said Abu Safiya told his attorneys he was suffering from scabies, a skin disease. He is also desperate to be reunited with his family.
"Each visit that we do and the lawyers, when they meet the doctors again and again, that's the main question [the doctors] ask: 'When [am I] going home'" Abbas said.
Since his arrest, Abu Safiya has not been allowed contact with his family, according to Elyas. He only has intermittent communication with his legal representation, Elyas said.
Last week, Abu Safiya appeared by video link for a hearing before the Israel Supreme Court in Jerusalem to appeal his detention.
He was seen sitting, wearing a white shirt and gray pants. He was handcuffed and appeared considerably thinner than before his arrest.
It was the first time Abu Safiya has been publicly seen since February 2026, according to PHRI. The appeal was denied this week.
His private attorney, Nasser Odeh, conveyed a message from Abu Safiya during last week's hearing.
"I am a pediatrician, providing medical care to the sick, injured and vulnerable in the sector," the statement read. "I carried out my work in accordance with international law and humanitarian standards. My arrest is unjust and arbitrary."
His son, Elyas, said he hopes that by speaking out, he can put a spotlight on his father's detainment and make sure his name isn't forgotten.
"My father is not just a name or a number," Elyas said. "He is a doctor, a father, a human and his only crime is that he saves children. As his son, I carry his pain and share it with the world."
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