Palestinian doctor in Israeli custody faces life-threatening neglect

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office has reported that Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, the head of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, has lost 25kg since his arrest and is now battling heart disease, high blood pressure and scabies due to what it described as deliberate medical neglect by Israeli authorities.

Abu Safiya, 64, was seized by Israeli forces last December while he was treating the wounded inside the hospital. He has been held without charge or trial for nearly a year, part of what rights groups call Israel’s wider assault on Palestinian health workers.

His wife has appealed for urgent international intervention to save his life, saying: “His only crime was saving the wounded.”