Israeli court filing on detained Gaza doctor Hussam Abu Safiya draws criticism from rights group

LONDON: An Israeli rights group said on Tuesday that a state court filing on 14 detained Gaza doctors failed to answer “serious concerns” about the condition of Palestinian physician Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, who has been held by Israel since late 2024 reportedly without charge.

Physicians for Human Rights Israel said in a statement the state’s response to the Israeli Supreme Court did not adequately address allegations about Abu Safiya’s health and treatment in detention.

The group said the filing left key questions unanswered from a sworn affidavit by his lawyer, Nasser Odeh.

PHRI said the state offered “only a general denial while failing to address most of the factual allegations documented during Attorney Odeh’s visit to the underground ‘Rakefet’ detention facility last week.”

On July 5, the Supreme Court ordered the state to respond by July 7 to PHRI’s petition seeking the release of 14 Palestinian doctors from Gaza held in Israel without charge, according to a previous statement by the rights group.

According to the group, the court also told the state to address allegations concerning Abu Safiya’s condition. 

In its filing, the state said that after a review it found “no indication of danger” to Abu Safiya’s life. It also said he had been examined several times by medical staff since his transfer on June 24 to the Rakefet wing of Nitzan Prison.

PHRI said the filing did not say when those examinations took place, who conducted them, what they found, whether the injuries described by Odeh were documented, or whether they were included in Abu Safiya’s medical records. 

The group recently published Odeh’s affidavit following his July 2 visit. It said Abu Safiya had severe head and neck injuries, struggled to breathe, had difficulty remaining seated and appeared close to losing consciousness.

Odeh said Abu Safiya told him he had been repeatedly beaten while in solitary confinement and again after being transferred to the Rakefet facility following a hearing on his appeal against the extension of his detention.

According to the affidavit, Abu Safiya told his lawyer he feared he would be killed in detention. 

PHRI said the state’s response raised “fundamental questions that remain unanswered,” including why Abu Safiya required repeated medical examinations after his transfer and whether those examinations were linked to complaints filed after Odeh’s visit. 

The group added the state “fails to address most of the factual allegations contained in Attorney Odeh’s affidavit.”

PHRI also said the Israel Prison Service has not provided Abu Safiya’s medical records despite a formal request. It said the state’s filing also did not address requests for an independent medical examination or an independent judicial visit.

On the broader petition, PHRI said the state offered no concrete information or evidence to justify the continued detention of the 14 doctors but still asked the court to dismiss the case without a hearing.

According to PHRI, the state argued that the doctors’ cases should not be considered collectively, that there were no special grounds to revoke their detention orders, and that the Israeli military chief of staff was not personally required to review such requests.