Palestinian doctor and Gaza hospital director Hussam Abu Safiya appeared frail at an Israeli court hearing, his first public sighting since February 2025.
Dr Abu Safiya, who was detained by Israeli forces in December 2024, looked noticeably thinner in images captured by the media as he appeared by video link at a Supreme Court hearing on Wednesday.
In April, his brother Muwafaq said Dr Abu Safiya had lost 40kg, suffered fractured ribs and other ailments during his incarceration. Dr Abu Safiya is the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza.
Israel has had a systematic policy of denying detainees adequate nutrition, according to released prisoners, rights groups and lawyers. Israeli Defence Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has boasted about reducing detainees' food portions.
At the hearing in Jerusalem, Dr Abu Safiya's lawyer, Nasser Odeh, challenged his detention. The doctor has been held without charge for more than 500 days, the Physicians for Human Rights Israel has said.
Mr Odeh told reporters that his client was handcuffed and shackled throughout the proceedings and that he was being held in solitary confinement.
The lawyer also said that Dr Abu Safiya was receiving medical attention, including treatment for severe neck and back pain, caused either by an assault during detention or by medication for a chronic illness.
Dr Abu Safiya's glasses had been confiscated and he was experiencing vision problems as a result. His hands showed signs of skin disease, which Mr Odeh said was widespread among Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. Scabies has spread in the prisons due to short showers, denial of hygiene products and a lack of proper ventilation, rights groups said.
Several Israeli human rights groups have described prison authorities' use of “systematic abuse”, including physical violence, inhumane detention conditions, deliberate starvation and denial of medical treatment.
Israel has accused Dr Abu Safiya of being affiliated with Hamas, but has not provided verifiable evidence. Hamas and Gaza's Health Ministry have denied the allegation.
The Israel Prison Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Dr Abu Safiya's treatment in detention. He is among 14 Palestinian doctors captured in Gaza by the military and detained for more than a year without charge – a common practice in Israel known as “administrative detention”.
In April, Physicians for Human Rights Israel called for the doctors' release, saying they had been denied adequate medical care and food, and subjected to physical abuse while in detention. The Israel Prison Service at the time rejected all allegations of mistreatment.
The 14 doctors are among nearly 400 Palestinian healthcare workers detained by Israel during its continuing assault on Gaza following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel, according to the PHRI.
