The WHO has called on Israel to release Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, detained director of Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital, amid concerns for his safety and the collapse of Gaza’s healthcare system.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has reiterated its call to Israel to release Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, amidst concerns for his safety.
“Kamal Adwan Hospital in North Gaza remains completely out of function and we have received no updates on the safety and wellbeing of its director Dr Hussam Abu Safiya since his detention on 27 December,” the WHO Director-General, Tedros edros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Sunday.
Kamal Adwan Hospital in North #Gaza remains completely out of function and we have received no updates on the safety and wellbeing of its director Dr Hussam Abu Safiya since his detention on 27 December. We continue to urge Israel to release him.
We repeat: attacks on…
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) January 4, 2025
“We continue to urge Israel to release him. We repeat: attacks on hospitals and health professionals must end. People in Gaza need access to health care,” Tedros added in his post on X, urging a ceasefire.
Abu Safiya was detained by Israeli forces along with fellow medical staff and others during a raid on the hospital on December 27, following a days-long siege.
Abu Safiya ‘Subjected to Torture’
On Friday, the Geneva-based Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor said it had received information that the health of Dr. Abu Safiya has deteriorated due to the torture he has endured during his detention, particularly while being held at the Sde Teiman detention center.
Dr. Abu Safiya Detained by Israel – Grave Concerns over Torture, Health
The organization said it has also received information from recently released detainees at the Sde Teiman, “confirming that Dr. Abu Safiya was subjected to severe torture, leading to a significant deterioration in his health.”
This occurred despite him already being injured by Israeli air strikes on the hospital, “where he worked tirelessly until the facility was stormed and set ablaze by Israeli forces,” it noted.
Concern for Critical Patients
The WHO’s representative for the West Bank and Gaza, Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, also called on Friday for Dr. Abu Safiya’s immediate release saying the UN body “remains deeply concerned” about him.
“We’ve lost contact with him since and call for his immediate release,” said Peeperkorn in a UN Security Council meeting.
Peeperkorn pointed out the grim situation in Gaza, saying that over 25 per cent of the 105,000 injured civilians now face life-changing injuries.
“Hospitals have become battlegrounds”
Rik Peeperkorn briefed the UN Security Council on Friday, echoing @WHO‘s call to ensure that hospitals in North #Gaza can be supported to become functional again. https://t.co/e9RNhyitXU pic.twitter.com/DE2piF8WKG
— UN News (@UN_News_Centre) January 5, 2025
“At the current rate, it would take five to 10 years to evacuate all these critically ill patients,” Peeperkorn warned, adding that over 12,000 people remain on waiting lists for urgent treatment abroad.
Only 16 of the enclave’s 36 hospitals remain partially operational, their collective capacity merely above 1,800 beds – entirely insufficient for the overwhelming medical needs, he said according to a UN News report.
Citing shortages of medical supplies, equipment, and personnel, Dr. Peeperkorn noted that “The health sector is being systematically dismantled.”
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, more than 1,050 medical professionals have been killed in Gaza since October 2023.
Ongoing Genocide
The ongoing Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip, which began on October 7, 2023, has led to a humanitarian crisis of unprecedented scale. As the death toll among besieged and starved Palestinian civilians continues to rise daily, Israel is currently facing charges of genocide against Palestinians before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
35-day-old Yusuf Ahmad Anwar Kloub becomes the 8th child to die from extreme cold. The blockade and ongoing military aggression have worsened conditions for displaced families. #Gaza #HumanRights #WinterCrisis
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) January 6, 2025
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, at least 45,854 Palestinians have been killed, and 109,139 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7, 2023. The toll is expected to rise further, with at least 11,000 people still unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes across Gaza.
The war, which Palestinians call “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood,” began after a military operation carried out by Hamas on Israeli territory. Israel reports that 1,139 of its soldiers and civilians were killed during the initial attack on October 7. However, Israeli media have raised concerns that a significant number of Israeli casualties were caused by ‘friendly fire’ during the assault.
Humanitarian Catastrophe
Human rights organizations, both Palestinian and international, have reported that the overwhelming majority of the casualties in Gaza are women and children. The ongoing violence has also exacerbated an acute famine, with thousands of children among the dead, highlighting the severity of the humanitarian disaster.
Palestinians in Gaza are facing the bitter winter, floods, and famine all while surviving Israel’s relentless attacks and forced displacement.
This is US-Israeli manufactured suffering. It must end.pic.twitter.com/8oiHo3bvsB
— CODEPINK (@codepink) January 1, 2025
The war has displaced nearly two million people from their homes across Gaza, with the majority of the displaced forced into the already overcrowded southern region of the Strip. The population in Gaza remains trapped in the ongoing conflict, with little access to basic necessities such as food, water, and medical care.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
