Dear Brig. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi,

I am writing to demand the immediate release of Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, a paediatrician and the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in the occupied Gaza Strip, who was arbitrarily detained and forcibly disappeared by Israeli forces on 27 December 2024. This raid, which also led to the detention of other hospital staff and patients, put the last functioning major medical facility in the North Gaza governorate out of service.

Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, 51, has been a prominent voice for Gaza’s decimated healthcare sector, providing crucial and reliable information about the dire healthcare situation since Israeli forces imposed a near-total siege on the area on 6 October 2024. Despite the killing of his son in October, Dr Abu Safiya continued to bear witness and provide medical care to children and other patients.

Testimonies collected by Amnesty International and other human rights groups reveal a grim reality inside Israeli prisons and detention centres. Palestinian detainees, including health workers, face systematic torture, other forms of ill-treatment, and denial of fair trial rights. Access to adequate food and medical care is also severely limited. Given Israeli authorities’ ongoing refusal to allow independent monitors into detention centres, I am gravely concerned for Dr Hussam Abu Safiya’s life and wellbeing.

By arbitrarily arresting Dr Abu Safiya, refusing to disclose his whereabouts, and denying him access to legal counsel, Israeli forces have committed serious violations of international law, including the crime of enforced disappearance.

Therefore, I urge you to secure the immediate release of Dr Hussam Abu Safiya and all other Palestinians, including health workers, who have been forcibly disappeared and arbitrarily detained by Israel. Pending his release, I also call on you to disclose his whereabouts, ensure his protection from all forms of torture and ill-treatment, and grant him access to legal counsel and adequate medical care.

Yours sincerely,