Detained Gaza Doctor Says Israel Is About to Kill Him

A prominent Gazan doctor detained and tortured by Israel has told his lawyers he believes he is about to be killed.

Dr Hussam Abu Safiya’s lawyer, Nasser Odeh, shared his grim prediction over the weekend following a meeting with him at Nitzan prison.

The paediatrician “was brought to the meeting shackled by his hands and feet and accompanied by masked prison guards,” Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI) said in a statement based on the lawyer’s affidavit.

​“He bore fresh, severe injuries to his head, around his eyes, and on his ears and neck – to the extent that his lawyer initially struggled to recognise him.

“During the visit, Dr Abu Safiya experienced difficulty breathing and speaking continuously. He appeared extremely weak, struggled to sit upright without falling, and on several occasions seemed on the verge of losing consciousness.”

The doctor “expressed grave fear for his life, stating: ‘This is the last time you will see me… They brought me here to kill me. I don’t see myself surviving. This is the end.'”

PHRI added: “Based on these direct observations, attorney Odeh concluded that Dr Abu Safiya’s life is in immediate danger.”  

In March, two UN experts called for the doctor’s immediate release and said he had been subjected to “severe torture” in Israeli detention.

Abu Safiya was snatched by Israeli forces in late 2024 after a siege at the Kamal Adwan hospital, the facility he was in charge of at the time.

Israel has systematically targeted hospitals and medics as part of its genocide in Gaza.