Congress pressures Rubio to release Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya
Agencies3 min read
Share
69 Democratic and independent members of the U.S. Congress have urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio to intervene with the Israeli government to secure the release of Palestinian doctor Hussam Abu Safiya, who has been held by Israel for more than 500 days.
In a letter led by Representatives Maxine Dexter and Raul Ruiz, the members of Congress expressed grave concern over Abu Safiya's deteriorating health, demanding that the State Department contact the Israeli government to ensure his release and provide him with the necessary medical care.
Abu Safiya is a pediatrician and the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip. He was detained by Israeli authorities in December 2024 and remains imprisoned without formal charges or trial.
In June, the Israeli Supreme Court rejected a petition he submitted demanding his release.
Health Deterioration and Mistreatment
According to his lawyer and the Israeli organization Physicians for Human Rights, Abu Safiya has been moved between five prisons since his arrest. During a visit by his lawyer on August 30, he spoke about being subjected to assault and sleep deprivation.
Naji Abbas, director of the prisoners and detainees department at the organization, said that Abu Safiya has lost about 20 kilograms of his weight and was deprived of his high blood pressure medication for at least two months prior to the intervention of the organization and his lawyer. He also informed his lawyer that he is suffering from scabies.
Amnesty International quoted Abu Safiya's lawyer as saying that new bruise marks appeared on his body and that he was having difficulty staying conscious.
The organization expressed deep concern over reports of him being subjected to beatings, deliberate sleep deprivation, and threats, demanding that Israeli authorities immediately and unconditionally release him and all arbitrarily detained Palestinians.
American Demands for Release
Dexter stated that reports regarding the mistreatment of Abu Safiya and his deteriorating health require immediate action, considering that a doctor should not be punished "simply for answering the call to care for people in crisis."
For his part, Ruiz called on the Secretary of State to work with the Israeli government to release Abu Safiya and enable him to receive urgent medical care, expressing concern over his lack of adequate treatment for his worsening condition.
During the first months of the war on Gaza, Abu Safiya emerged as a prominent medical voice in the strip, documenting the collapse of the health system and attempts to keep Kamal Adwan Hospital functioning despite the siege and military operations.
The congressional letter noted his contribution to caring for injured civilians and establishing a malnutrition treatment unit that treated hundreds of children, alongside his continued medical work despite the killing of his 15-year-old son and his own injury during the war.
