The United Nations (UN) has called for the immediate release of detained Gaza hospital director Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, saying it had received credible reports that he has been subjected to severe abuse while in Israeli custody since his arrest in late 2024.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel urged Israeli authorities to allow Hussam immediate access to independent medical care, saying his health had deteriorated during his detention.
"The Commission calls for the immediate, unconditional and safe release of Dr Abu Safiya and of all medical personnel held in arbitrary detention by Israel," it said.
Hussam, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, was detained by Israeli forces during military operations in the territory in December 2024. His case has drawn growing international attention from rights groups and UN officials, who have repeatedly raised concerns over the treatment of Palestinian healthcare workers detained during the war.
According to the Commission, the reported abuse of Hussam reflected what it described as a broader pattern of mistreatment of Palestinian medical personnel in Israeli custody, adding that detainees are protected under international law from torture and other forms of cruel, inhumane treatment.
"The continued arbitrary detention of Palestinian medical personnel and the severe mistreatment they are subjected to are deplorable and flagrant violations of international law," the commission said.
Further, the Commission also reiterated findings from previous reports, in which they accused Israeli authorities of deliberately targeting Gaza's healthcare system and medical workers during the conflict. The Commission has previously concluded that such actions amounted to war crimes and crimes against humanity, and has also alleged that Israel committed genocide through its policy toward Gaza's healthcare system.
The development comes nearly two weeks after the same Commission accused Israeli forces of intentionally targeting children in Gaza and the occupied West Bank since October 2023. According to the Commission, children account for roughly 30 per cent of those killed in Gaza, describing what it calls a sustained pattern of harm to minors throughout the conflict.
“Between October 7, 2023 and October 7, 2025, at least 20,179 children were killed, and 44,143 children were injured as a direct result of the hostilities in Gaza, constituting 30 per cent of those killed and 26 per cent of those injured during this period,” the Commission said in late June.
The UN agency similarly highlighted strikes on health infrastructure, including neonatal and maternity care facilities, warning that such attacks have endangered newborn survival and undermined reproductive health, with reported increases in miscarriages and birth complications among Palestinian women in Gaza.
“As a result of these attacks on healthcare facilities, limited treatment availability and the blockade imposed by Israel, children injured in Gaza will suffer well into their adulthood. Short-term complications will include infants not meeting motor developmental milestones within the first year of life,” it said.
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