US lawmakers call on Israel to release imprisoned doctor Hussam Abu Safia

Letter from progressive US representatives brings attention to Israeli abuse and detention of Palestinian medical workers.

Palestinian doctor Hussam Abu Safiya, who was captured by the Israeli military in Gaza in 2024, appears via video link at a Israeli Supreme Court hearing in Jerusalem on June 10 [Reuters TV via Reuters]

A group of six progressive Congress members in the United States have released a statement condemning Israel’s abuse of Palestinian healthcare workers, including the Gaza doctor Hussam Abu Safia , who has been held in Israeli detention since 2024.

The Tuesday statement draws attention to Israeli attacks on Palestinian medical workers, who have been targeted and detained during the country’s genocidal war on Gaza.

list 1 of 3 Israeli forces fired over 900 bullets to kill Gaza medics in 2025: Report

list 2 of 3 No end to torture of Gaza doctor Abu Safia in Israeli prison: What to know

list 3 of 3 MSF demands Israel release detained Palestinian healthcare workers

It was signed by Representatives Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, Summer Lee, Pramila Jayapal and Delia Ramirez.

“Over the last three years, the Israeli government has systematically destroyed the health system in Palestine, murdering at least 1,700 Palestinian doctors, nurses, paramedics, and other healthcare workers and destroying dozens of hospitals,” the statement reads.

“It has arrested and arbitrarily detained hundreds of Palestinian healthcare workers, including at least 16 physicians who continue to be held in inhumane conditions.”

Among those detained is Abu Safia , who lawyers say was subjected to abuses such as torture, sleep deprivation and beatings during his detention.

Israeli soldiers arrested Abu Safia in December 2024, after he and other medical workers reportedly refused to evacuate from Kamal Adwan Hospital, where they worked.

No charges have been filed against Abu Safia, and he has not had a trial.

Israeli attacks on health infrastructure in Gaza, including the destruction of nearly all of the strip’s hospitals and medical centres, are one component of what rights groups have depicted as an effort to deprive Palestinians of essential services such as food, water and medical treatment .

Tuesday’s statement argues that such efforts are part of an “intentional policy designed to further occupation, apartheid, and genocide against the Palestinian people”.

That assessment is shared by a growing number of rights organisations, scholars and United Nations officials, who have denounced Israeli actions in the Palestinian strip.

Israeli officials have stated that they target hospitals and medical facilities as part of an effort to attack the Palestinian armed groups that allegedly use such facilities to carry out and coordinate operations.

Such claims have often failed to withstand scrutiny. Israel admitted that its soldiers killed a group of 15 emergency workers in southern Gaza in March 2025, after initially stating that the ambulance convoy had approached soldiers “suspiciously” and claiming, without evidence, that several of those killed were linked to Hamas.

A report by the group Forensic Architecture and Earshot found that Israeli soldiers fired more than 900 bullets as they opened fire on a clearly marked ambulance convoy and killed some of the medics “execution-style” before burying their bodies and their vehicles.

美国进步派代表的来信呼吁人们关注以色列虐待和拘留巴勒斯坦医务人员的行为。

2024年在加沙被以色列军队俘虏的巴勒斯坦医生胡萨姆·阿布·萨菲亚于6月10日通过视频连线出席了在耶路撒冷举行的以色列最高法院听证会。[路透社电视报道，图片来自路透社]

美国六位进步派国会议员发表声明，谴责以色列虐待巴勒斯坦医护人员，其中包括自 2024 年以来一直被以色列拘留的加沙医生胡萨姆·阿布·萨菲亚。

周二的声明引起了人们对以色列袭击巴勒斯坦医务人员的关注，这些医务人员在以色列对加沙发动的种族灭绝战争中成为袭击目标并被拘留。

报告显示，2025年以色列军队向加沙地带发射了超过900发子弹，造成医护人员死亡，这是其中三项袭击事件中的一项。

列表 2/3：加沙医生阿布·萨菲亚在以色列监狱遭受酷刑，至今仍未停止：你需要了解什么

无国界医生组织要求以色列释放被拘留的巴勒斯坦医护人员（共3项，此为第3项）

该法案由众议员拉希达·特莱布、伊尔汗·奥马尔、赫苏斯·“楚伊”·加西亚、萨默·李、普拉米拉·贾亚帕尔和德莉娅·拉米雷斯签署。

声明中写道：“过去三年，以色列政府有计划地摧毁了巴勒斯坦的医疗卫生系统，杀害了至少 1700 名巴勒斯坦医生、护士、护理人员和其他医护人员，并摧毁了数十家医院。”

“它逮捕并任意拘留了数百名巴勒斯坦医护人员，其中包括至少16名医生，他们至今仍被关押在非人道的环境中。”

被拘留者中包括阿布·萨菲亚，律师称他在拘留期间遭受了酷刑、剥夺睡眠和殴打等虐待。

2024 年 12 月，以色列士兵逮捕了阿布·萨菲亚，据报道，此前他和一些医务人员拒绝从他们工作的卡迈勒·阿德万医院撤离。

目前尚未对阿布·萨菲亚提出任何指控，也未对他进行审判。

以色列对加沙卫生基础设施的袭击，包括摧毁加沙地带几乎所有的医院和医疗中心，是人权组织所描述的剥夺巴勒斯坦人食物、水和医疗等基本服务的行动的一部分。

周二的声明称，这些举措是“旨在进一步占领、种族隔离和对巴勒斯坦人民进行种族灭绝的蓄意政策”的一部分。

越来越多的人权组织、学者和联合国官员也持相同观点，他们谴责以色列在巴勒斯坦地带的行动。

以色列官员表示，他们袭击医院和医疗设施，是为了打击据称利用这些设施实施和协调行动的巴勒斯坦武装团体。

此类说法往往经不起推敲。以色列承认，其士兵于2025年3月在加沙南部杀害了15名紧急救援人员。此前，以色列方面曾声称，这支救护车队“形迹可疑”地接近了士兵，并在没有任何证据的情况下断言，其中几名死者与哈马斯有关。

法医建筑与耳语组织的一份报告发现，以色列士兵向一支有明显标记的救护车队开火，发射了 900 多发子弹，并以“行刑式”的方式杀害了一些医护人员，然后掩埋了他们的尸体和车辆。