Gaza hospital director says he doesn't know why he is being detained

JERUSALEM

Dr. Husam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, says he does not know his charges or the reason for his detention.

His statement came during an interview with reporter Yossi Eli of Israel’s Channel 13 which aired Wednesday evening.

It marked the first appearance of Abu Safiya since his arrest by the Israeli army in December. He was seen in Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank appearing pale-faced and with his hands and feet shackled.

Abu Safiya gained prominence for his humanitarian role during the Israeli genocide in Gaza and was one of the leading doctors who continued working under bombardment to save the wounded and injured.

Israeli forces arrested him in late December after storming Kamal Adwan Hospital, forcing him out at gunpoint after the hospital was destroyed and rendered non-operational.

As the Israeli genocide escalated, Abu Safiya paid a heavy personal price when his son, Ibrahim, was killed during an Israeli army raid on the hospital on Oct. 26.

On Nov. 24, 2024, Abu Safiya was injured in an Israeli airstrike targeting the hospital, but he refused to leave and continued treating patients and the wounded.

During his interview with the Israeli journalist, he said: "I am originally a pediatrician and worked as a temporary substitute doctor at Kamal Adwan Hospital."

The Palestinian doctor denied ever seeing or dealing with any Israeli captives in the hospital.

He also denied that Palestinian militants were receiving treatment there, saying that "in the end, I am delivering a humanitarian message, and those receiving treatment at our facility were ordinary civilians."

Abu Safiya reiterated that he does not know why he was arrested or what charges he is facing, saying "I don’t know why I am here...I don’t know."

In a statement posted on his official X account, Abu Safiya’s family responded to his appearance, shackled by the hands and feet in an Israeli prison.

“The footage broadcast by Israeli media of our father, Dr. Husam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, is yet another form of psychological terrorism, adding to the torture he has endured over the past two months,” it said.

It said the footage “reflects clear media distortion through the manipulation and alteration of his statements.”

“When asked about the Israeli prisoners, he responded that he is a pediatrician. However, his answer was deliberately rephrased and distorted, despite him completely denying all accusations made against him,” it added.

“We, the family of Dr. Husam Abu Safiya, reject any media outlet publishing the video without addressing the psychological terrorism involved and exposing the manipulation of his statements,” the family asserted.

“The sight of our father shackled and unable to move should prompt immediate and continuous action to ensure his immediate release,” it added.

On Saturday, the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported that Abu Safiya is among the Palestinian detainees set to be released as part of the first phase of the ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas.