A prominent Gaza doctor detained by Israel without charge for more than 18 months has allegedly been so badly beaten that his lawyer says he could barely recognise him. The disturbing claims have intensified pressure on Israeli authorities as the country's Supreme Court weighs a petition seeking his release. Lawyer Nasser Odeh told the BBC he fears for the life of Dr Hussam Abu Safiya after visiting him last Thursday at the Rakefet interrogation facility. Odeh said his client appeared severely injured and repeatedly lost consciousness during their meeting. "I had difficulty recognising his features," Odeh said. He described bruises covering Abu Safiya's face, eyes, neck and ears, saying signs of beatings and torture were clearly visible and that the doctor was exhausted, struggling to breathe and in a poor physical, psychological and mental state. According to Odeh, Abu Safiya told him: "I'm living in hell. The mind can't imagine what I go through every day. I think someone has decided to kill me." The lawyer said Abu Safiya claimed he had been assaulted by more than five prison guards using their hands, batons and hammers after an appeal against his detention was heard at Israel's Supreme Court in Jerusalem last month. Odeh also said his client told him he had received no medical treatment following the alleged attack. The Israel Prison Service (IPS) rejected the allegations in a statement to the BBC, describing the account as false and without factual basis. It said all prisoners and detainees are held in accordance with the law, receive medical care based on Ministry of Health guidelines and denied allegations of abuse, torture, starvation or the denial of medical treatment. The IPS said it could not provide information about Abu Safiya's detention status, location or medical condition because of privacy and security considerations. Israel's Supreme Court has ordered the government to respond by Tuesday to a petition seeking the release of Abu Safiya and 13 other Palestinian doctors from Gaza who are being held without charge. Abu Safiya was the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, where he treated patients and led the facility while the area was under what the United Nations described as a "near total siege" by Israeli forces. He was detained in December 2024 after Israeli forces ordered patients and medical staff to evacuate the hospital. The Israeli military said at the time that Kamal Adwan Hospital was a "Hamas terrorist stronghold," while the World Health Organization called for attacks on hospitals in Gaza to stop. Images from the scene showed Abu Safiya, wearing his white doctor's coat, walking through rubble toward an Israeli armoured vehicle before being taken away for interrogation. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told the BBC that Abu Safiya was arrested on suspicion of involvement in terrorist activities and of holding a rank within Hamas. He held the rank of colonel in the health department of Gaza's Hamas-run interior ministry, an agency responsible for providing medical treatment to security personnel, police officers and their families. However, medical colleagues and international aid organisations that worked with Abu Safiya deny he co-operated with or worked for Hamas. He remains detained under Israel's Unlawful Combatants Law, which allows the military to hold people from Gaza suspected of posing a security threat for an unspecified period without filing charges. The case comes amid growing scrutiny of conditions inside Israeli detention facilities. The United Nations Committee against Torture said in November 2025 that it was deeply concerned by reports suggesting "a de facto state policy of organised and widespread torture and ill treatment" of Palestinian detainees. During the same month, Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI) said at least 94 Palestinian prisoners and detainees had died in Israeli custody in less than two years. Human rights organisations have repeatedly called for action in Abu Safiya's case. Amnesty International described the allegations surrounding his detention as "truly horrifying," while PHRI said he should immediately be transferred, receive urgent medical treatment and be brought before a judge. PHRI also filed the petition now before Israel's Supreme Court seeking the release of Abu Safiya and 13 other detained Palestinian doctors from Gaza. On Monday, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention adopted an opinion describing Abu Safiya's detention as arbitrary and called for his immediate release. The independent experts also said his case was one of several that may point to a widespread or systematic practice of arbitrary detention in Israel. The BBC has contacted the Israel Prison Service for comment on the UN working group's findings. Despite his fears, Odeh said he has not given up hope. He said Abu Safiya belongs back in the hospital treating patients, not behind prison walls. But one final remark from his client continues to haunt him. According to Odeh, Abu Safiya quietly said: "Thank you Nasser, but I think it will be the last time we will meet." https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c07yy3pgrlmo
