The non-governmental organization said in a statement that its lawyer visited Abu Safia in Ofer Prison (central Israel) and was briefed on the conditions of his detention. It added that it had observed a "serious deterioration" in Abu Safia's health.
The association noted that he "lost approximately 25 kilograms and suffers from scabies without receiving appropriate medical treatment." It added that Abu Safia "has not been brought before a judge since last March, nor has he been investigated, nor has the reason for his arrest been revealed."
She also confirmed that he "is subjected to violence, ill-treatment, and denial of medical examinations despite his pre-existing heart problems and high blood pressure." She added, "The doctor faces harsh detention conditions, including a lack of food and clean clothing for months, in addition to repeated assaults by prison guards."
She noted that "at least 100 medical personnel from Gaza have been arrested" since the outbreak of the war of extermination in October 2023, the majority of them without indictment, describing this as a "flagrant violation of international law."
Naji Abbas, director of the association's prisoners' section, demanded the immediate release of Abu Safia and his fellow medical staff, and urged the international community to intervene to stop what he considered a "moral and legal crime" against Palestinian medical personnel.
Last February, Hebrew media published a video for the first time showing Abu Safia inside the detention center, his hands and feet shackled and looking exhausted and tired.
This came just days after Israeli authorities decided to detain Abu Safia as an "unlawful combatant," and revealed that he had been subjected to torture, abuse, and medical neglect.
Meanwhile, an Israeli court upheld Abu Safia's six-month detention order at the end of March, according to a statement from Hamas's Prisoners' Information Office.
As the Israeli genocide intensified, Abu Safia paid a heavy personal price when he lost his son, Ibrahim, in the Israeli occupation army's storming of the hospital on October 26, 2024.
On November 24 of the same year, Abu Safia was injured in an Israeli bombing of the hospital, but he refused to leave and continued treating patients and the wounded.
Abu Safia was arrested on December 27, 2024, after the Israeli occupation forces stormed Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip and forced him out at gunpoint, having destroyed the hospital and put it out of service.
With American support, Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza since October 7, 2023, leaving 65,502 martyrs and 167,376 wounded, most of them children and women, and a famine that has claimed the lives of 442 Palestinians, including 147 children.
