Family of Gaza hospital director calls for his release

“We, the family of Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, urgently appeal to the international community to act immediately for his release. Detained by Israeli occupation forces while performing his humanitarian duty, he now suffers severe mistreatment in Sde Teiman detention centre, including humiliation, exposure to freezing cold and denial of medical care,” reads a statement from Abu Safiya's family, shared on his Instagram page. 

Abu Safiya, the director of Gaza’s last functioning hospital, is being held at Israel’s notorious Sde Teiman prison, where abuse - including torture, murder and rape - is rife, recently released detainees have said.

The hospital director has not been seen in public since Friday, when Israeli forces stormed the bombed-out Kamal Adwan Hospital, following a nearly three-month blockade of northern Gaza. 

The family's statement says that Abu Safiya and his entire family hold Kazakhstani citizenship and “calls on the Kazakhstani government, international organizations like WHO and MedGlobal, and all foreign governments to intervene and secure his release before it is too late”.