LONDON / Anadolu

Activists hung the Palestinian flag on Tower Bridge in the British capital London, demanding the release of Hossam Abu Safia, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza, who was arrested by Israel in 2024 and has been detained since.

A group of pro-Palestinian supporters hung the Palestinian flag on Monday, along with a banner reading: "Release Dr. Hossam immediately" on the bridge.

In response, the City of London Police closed the bridge to traffic in both directions.

Activists also carried out a similar action at Waterloo Station in London, where they hung the Palestinian flag and a banner on the second floor of the station, chanting slogans in support of Palestine and Dr. Abu Safia.

On June 16 last year, the Israeli Supreme Court rejected a request to release Abu Safia.

On December 27, 2024, the Israeli army arrested Abu Safia during its raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital, where he served as director, amid the genocidal war Israel is waging on the Gaza Strip.

An Israeli special forces unit abducted Marwan al-Hams, director of field hospitals in the Gaza Strip, on July 21, 2025, while he was on a work mission at the International Committee of the Red Cross hospital in the Mawasi area, southwest of Khan Younis in the southern Strip.

According to data from Palestinian prisoner institutions, approximately 9,400 Palestinian prisoners are held in Israeli prisons, including 350 children, 99 women, and 3,244 administrative detainees, amid accusations that Israel practices torture, starvation, and medical neglect against them.

Since the ceasefire agreement took effect on October 10, 2025, the Israeli army has continued to carry out airstrikes, gunfire, and demolition operations in various areas of the Gaza Strip, while Israel has expanded its occupation to about 70 percent of its area, confining Palestinians to a range not exceeding 30 percent.

Israel's genocidal war in Gaza, which began on October 8, 2023, with American support, has left more than 73,000 Palestinian dead and over 173,000 wounded, in addition to widespread destruction affecting about 90 percent of civilian infrastructure.