Dr Hussam Abu Safiya was at his work as director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza when he was taken by Israeli Forces on 27 December 2024.

The twenty people still held by Hamas were released and gradually the bodies of those who had been killed were being returned to Israel. The slowness of the return of the bodies resulted in Israel severely limiting the humanitarian aid which had started to get into the starving population of Gaza.

Israel released 250 Palestinian prisoners and more than 1,700 who had been taken since October 7, 2023. They also returned the bodies of 45 Palestinians who had died whilst in Israeli detention. According to medical reports these show signs of torture, execution, and having been run over by tanks – “bodies bore strangulation marks, broken bones, and mutilation, while others were missing limbs”. Some of these were of people recently killed, others were of a decomposed state and not all bodies were complete.

There are still thousands of Palestinians in Israeli concentration camps and high security military prisons. One of those is Dr Hussam Abu Safiya. The Israeli court has approved an extension of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya’s administrative detention for another six months.

Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya was abducted by Israel for staying at his post – tending patients in the hospital while it was under bombardment. This is him walking from the hospital towards the Israeli tank which was bombarding it.

The conditions in the prison are dire and Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya has been tortured and deprived of the medical attention he requires.

Statement from the family of Dr. Hossam Abu Safia:

Our family today received confirmation from the legal team at the Meizan Human Rights Center that the Israeli court has approved the extension of my father’s administrative detention for another six months.

The decision comes despite my father’s name previously being included in the talk-of-release lists, an issue that doubles as feelings of anxiety and bewilderment among our family and all who pursue his humanitarian cause.

We express our deep concern that his continued detention without charges or fair trial, and we assure that this decision poses a great psychological and human burden on our family, colleagues and loved ones around the world.

We renew our confidence in the legal team following his case closely, and in all the humanitarian and legal efforts to ensure his release as soon as possible.

We advise everyone to rely only on official data released from the family or the legal team as a reliable source for any updates.

Idris Hossam Abu Safia

Click on this link to find out more and to sign your name : Amnesty, Release Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya!

There are hundreds of medical workers who had been working in Gaza incarcerated by Israel.

The islanders in Orkney will again join in vigil today, Saturday 18 October from 1 to 2pm on the Kirk Green, Broad Street Kirkwall.

Although there is Phase 1 of a Peace deal in operation, UNRWA which  has sufficient food supplies outside Gaza to sustain the population for three months, is still being blocked from entering Gaza by Israel at the Rafah crossing despite the Israel-Hamas ceasefire.  The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has over 1,300 truckloads of life-saving supplies ready to move, but is blocked from doing so. Blocking the Rafah crossing means that  supplies from Egypt need to take a long detour to the Kerem Shalom crossing where they face Israeli checks on what they are carrying.

The islanders in Orkney have been campaigning every Saturday since the end of October 2023. They announced their determination to continue because of the precarious situation of the ‘Peace Deal’, the thousands of Palestinians still incarcerated in Israeli military prisons and camps, and the severe limitations being put on humanitarian aid. They welcome all those who wish to join them at the vigil to do so.

Fiona Grahame