No end to torture of Gaza doctor Abu Safia in Israeli prison: What to know

Abu Safia, who has been under custody for nearly two years, continues to face abuse inside prison, his lawyer says.

Dr Hussam Abu Safia is seen on a video call from prison during an Israeli Supreme Court hearing of an appeal by his lawyers to end his detention, in Jerusalem, on June 10, 2026 [Physicians for Human Rights Israel via AP]

Jailed Palestinian doctor Hussam Abu Safia continues to face abuse under Israeli detention, according to his lawyer, raising renewed concerns about his safety inside the prison.

Israel abducted Abu Safia on December 27, 2024 from the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza for defying Israeli orders to evacuate the hospital – one of the last remaining functioning medical facilities at the time. Israel has killed hundreds of medics and destroyed or damaged almost all of Gaza’s hospitals as part of its push to cripple the enclave’s healthcare system.

list 1 of 4 UN experts urge Israel to free Gaza doctor amid reports of ‘severe torture’

list 2 of 4 Israeli court rules to keep prominent Palestinian doctor in detention

list 3 of 4 Jailed Gaza hospital chief in life-threatening condition, rights group says

list 4 of 4 UN inquiry urges release of Palestinian doctor jailed by Israel

Campaigners and the family of the Palestinian doctor have routinely highlighted his physical state inside the prison, calling for his release. In July, a United Nations inquiry commission said Abu Sufia faced “continued and severe abuse”, and last month, the director general of Gaza’s Ministry of Health called for urgent action to “save” the jailed doctor’s life.

So what is the latest testimony by the jailed doctor, and why does Israel continue to keep him in detention without any charge?

What is Abu Safia’s latest testimony?

The jailed doctor’s latest testimony was conveyed by his lawyer, Nasser Odeh, according to a statement on Wednesday by Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI). Odeh visited Abu Safia in the Rakefet detention facility inside Nitzan Prison on August 30.

Abu Safia said Israeli prison guards continue to beat him, deprive him of sleep, and threaten him against sharing the conditions of his detention with his lawyer.

Guards assault the doctor by “punching and kicking him and beating him with batons across his body, including sensitive areas”, according to the statement from PHRI.

Abu Safia is also “deliberately” deprived of sleep through the use of loudspeakers and other noise throughout the night, PHRI said.

What else has Abu Safia experienced during his detention?

Rights groups and his family have long said he shows signs of having been regularly tortured.

The doctor has been held in solitary confinement at the underground Rakefet facility, where he has been subjected to daily violence and beatings, his lawyer has said in the past.

At one point, his injuries were so severe – with “fresh and serious bruises on his head, around his eyes, on his ears, and on his neck”, that his lawyer had trouble recognising him, PHRI, the Israeli rights group, said in July.

In June, footage of Abu Safia appearing via videolink before an Israeli court showed him looking noticeably thinner in his face and around his abdomen.

On August 10, he was transferred from Rafeket to the prison service’s medical centre at Ramla prison, which PHRI has stated “in itself indicates serious medical needs that cannot be adequately addressed in ordinary prison wards”.

What are rights groups saying?

The jailed Gaza doctor’s testimony comes as PHRI pursues legal proceedings demanding that an independent physician examine him – a request submitted to the Israel Prison Service on July 7 but which has not yet been approved, said the organisation.

Abu Safia has also petitioned an Israeli administrative court through the group, while the Israel Prison Service recently requested additional time to submit its response.

The Israeli rights group has said “there is no justification for further delay.”

When was Abu Safia arrested and why?

There are no charges against the doctor and he has not undergone any trial, as he is held under Israel’s unlawful combatant law – a policy it has used to hold Palestinians for prolonged periods without trial.

The Israeli forces abducted the doctor after raiding the Kamal Adwan Hospital, which was rendered destroyed. He had refused to evacuate the hospital.

Before his detention, he had been a prominent voice highlighting Gaza’s decimated healthcare sector during Israel’s genocide and continued to work despite the death of one of his sons in an Israeli drone attack.

At least 13 other Palestinian doctors from Gaza have been imprisoned for more than a year and a half without charges or due process, according to PHRI.

“Our central demand remains unchanged: The release of the 14 physicians from Gaza, including Dr Abu Safia, so that they can reunite with their families and resume their medical duties,” the organisation said in its statement on Wednesday.

What has been the international response to Abu Safia’s arrest?

In July, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry ⁠on the Occupied Palestinian Territory called for Israel to immediately release Abu Safia. The commission also urged Israeli authorities to provide him with immediate independent medical care.

Leading human rights organisations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have also petitioned for his release and an end to his torture in Israeli custody.

How have the Palestinians been treated inside Israeli prisons?

The UN commission’s July report found that Israeli authorities’ reported conduct towards Abu Safia reflects a broader pattern of violations that it identified in previous reports. The commission has found that torture and ill-treatment of Palestinian detainees is widespread and systematic.

It has called on Israel to end its practices of arbitrary detention and torture, and has urged that independent medical experts, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and human rights monitors be given unhindered access to places of detention.

According to PHRI, Israel’s policy of torture in prisons against Palestinian detainees has killed at least 105 people since October 2023.

Israel is currently holding more than 9,400 prisoners, including 92 women and more than 370 children, according to Palestinian and Israeli rights groups.

Palestinians jailed by Israel have faced widespread abuse in custody , including routine beatings, starvation and sexual assault. Former Palestinian detainees have told Al Jazeera how they suffered dehumanising treatment by guards and soldiers, including torture and sexual violence.

阿布·萨菲亚已被拘留近两年，他的律师称，他在狱中继续遭受虐待。

2026年6月10日，在耶路撒冷，以色列最高法院就胡萨姆·阿布·萨菲亚医生的律师提出的结束其拘留的上诉举行听证会，照片中可以看到他从监狱通过视频通话出庭。[以色列人权医生组织通过美联社提供]

据其律师称，被监禁的巴勒斯坦医生胡萨姆·阿布·萨菲亚在以色列拘留期间继续遭受虐待，这再次引发了人们对他狱中安全的担忧。

2024年12月27日，以色列从加沙北部卡迈勒·阿德万医院绑架了阿布·萨菲亚，原因是萨菲亚违抗以色列撤离医院的命令——该医院是当时仅存的几家仍在运转的医疗机构之一。以色列为削弱加沙的医疗体系，杀害了数百名医护人员，并摧毁或破坏了加沙几乎所有的医院。

联合国专家敦促以色列释放加沙医生，此前有报道称该医生遭受“严重酷刑”（名单1/4）。

以色列法院四项规定中的第二项，旨在继续拘留一位著名的巴勒斯坦医生

人权组织称，被监禁的加沙医院院长生命垂危，名单共4人，这是其中的3人。

联合国调查敦促以色列释放被以色列监禁的巴勒斯坦医生（共4项调查，此为第4项）

巴勒斯坦医生阿布·苏菲亚的家人和维权人士一直关注他在狱中的身体状况，呼吁释放他。今年7月，联合国调查委员会表示，阿布·苏菲亚遭受了“持续严重的虐待”。上个月，加沙卫生部部长呼吁采取紧急行动“拯救”这位被监禁医生的生命。

那么，这位被监禁的医生最新的证词是什么？为什么以色列在没有任何指控的情况下继续拘留他？

阿布·萨菲亚的最新证词是什么？

据以色列人权医师组织（PHRI）周三发表的声明，被监禁医生的最新证词由其律师纳赛尔·奥德（Nasser Odeh）转述。奥德于8月30日探望了被关押在尼赞监狱拉凯费特拘留中心的阿布·萨菲亚（Abu Safia）。

阿布·萨菲亚说，以色列狱警继续殴打他，剥夺他的睡眠，并威胁他不许向律师透露他的拘留情况。

根据PHRI的声明，保安人员“拳打脚踢医生，并用警棍殴打他的身体，包括敏感部位”，以此攻击医生。

PHRI表示，阿布·萨菲亚还被“故意”剥夺了睡眠，有人在夜间使用扬声器和其他噪音进行干扰。

阿布·萨菲亚在被拘留期间还经历了什么？

人权组织和他的家人长期以来都表示，他有长期遭受酷刑的迹象。

这位医生的律师过去曾表示，他一直被单独监禁在地下的拉凯费特监狱，在那里他每天都遭受暴力和殴打。

据以色列人权组织PHRI在7月份表示，他的伤势一度非常严重——“头部、眼周、耳朵和颈部都有新鲜严重的瘀伤”，以至于他的律师都难以认出他。

6 月，阿布·萨菲亚通过视频连线出现在以色列法庭上的画面显示，他的脸部和腹部明显消瘦了许多。

8 月 10 日，他从拉菲凯特监狱被转移到拉姆拉监狱的监狱医疗中心，PHRI 表示，“这本身就表明他有严重的医疗需求，无法在普通的监狱病房得到充分满足”。

人权组织怎么说？

这位被监禁的加沙医生的证词发布之际，巴勒斯坦人权研究所（PHRI）正在提起法律诉讼，要求由一名独立医生对其进行检查——该组织表示，他们已于7月7日向以色列监狱管理局提交了这一请求，但尚未获得批准。

阿布·萨菲亚也通过该组织向以色列行政法院提出申诉，而以色列监狱管理局最近要求更多时间提交答复。

以色列人权组织表示，“没有任何理由再拖延下去”。

阿布·萨菲亚何时被捕？被捕原因是什么？

该医生未被指控任何罪名，也未接受任何审判，因为他被以色列依据非法战斗人员法拘留——以色列曾利用这项政策长期拘留巴勒斯坦人而不进行审判。

以色列军队突袭了卡迈勒·阿德万医院，并将医院夷为平地，随后绑架了这名医生。他曾拒绝撤离医院。

在被拘留之前，他曾积极发声，揭露以色列种族灭绝期间加沙医疗卫生部门遭受的重创，即使他的一个儿子在以色列无人机袭击中丧生，他仍然继续工作。

据巴勒斯坦人权组织（PHRI）称，至少还有 13 名来自加沙的巴勒斯坦医生被监禁一年半以上，既没有受到指控，也没有经过正当程序。

该组织周三发表声明称：“我们的核心诉求依然不变：释放包括阿布·萨菲亚医生在内的14名加沙医生，以便他们能够与家人团聚并恢复医疗工作。”

阿布·萨菲亚被捕后，国际社会作何反应？

7月，联合国巴勒斯坦被占领土问题独立国际调查委员会呼吁以色列立即释放阿布·萨菲亚。该委员会还敦促以色列当局立即为他提供独立的医疗救治。

包括国际特赦组织和人权观察在内的主要人权组织也已请愿要求释放他，并停止他在以色列拘留期间遭受的酷刑。

巴勒斯坦人在以色列监狱中受到怎样的待遇？

联合国委员会7月份的报告指出，以色列当局对待阿布·萨菲亚的行为反映了该委员会在之前报告中指出的更广泛的侵犯人权模式。委员会还发现，对巴勒斯坦被拘留者的酷刑和虐待普遍存在且系统化。

该组织呼吁以色列停止任意拘留和酷刑的做法，并敦促给予独立医学专家、红十字国际委员会和人权观察员不受阻碍地进入拘留场所的权利。

据巴勒斯坦人权研究所称，自 2023 年 10 月以来，以色列在监狱中对巴勒斯坦被拘留者实施酷刑的政策已造成至少 105 人死亡。

据巴勒斯坦和以色列人权组织称，以色列目前关押着超过9400名囚犯，其中包括92名妇女和370多名儿童。

被以色列监禁的巴勒斯坦人在狱中遭受了广泛的虐待，包括例行殴打、饥饿和性侵犯。一些巴勒斯坦前被拘留者向半岛电视台讲述了他们如何遭受狱警和士兵的非人待遇，包括酷刑和性暴力。