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Calls Grow for Israel to Release Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya; U.S. Doctor Says "Nobody Is Safe" in Gaza

2026-07-07 News & Politics
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Support our work: https://democracynow.org/donate/sm-desc-yt Israel continues to ignore international calls to free the director of Gaza's Kamal Adwan Hospital, Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, from over 18 months of Israeli detention without charge. After seeing Dr. Abu Safiya on July 2, his attorney Nasser Odeh says the doctor faces "tangible danger to his life" from torture and medical neglect. For more, we speak to Tirza Leibowitz, the deputy director of Physicians for Human Rights Israel, about Abu Safiya's case and efforts to secure his release. The group has filed an appeal in the Israeli courts requesting the release of Abu Safiya and 13 other Palestinian doctors who were captured in Gaza and imprisoned by the Israeli military. We also hear from Dr. Thaer Ahmad, a Chicago-based emergency room physician and former colleague of Hussam Abu Safiya. Ahmad volunteered as a medical practitioner in Gaza in 2024. He says Abu Safiya has become a "symbol of Palestinian resilience" and, in particular, Israel's systematic targeting of Gaza's healthcare system, which continues to this day. "The necessary aid is not entering, the bombing still persists, people are still dying on a regular basis, and these hospitals don't have the supplies that they need to be able to treat their patients," says Ahmad. Subscribe to our Daily Email Digest: https://democracynow.org/subscribe

Top Comments (10)

@judy9165 2026-07-07

This is an absolute disgrace ... the 14 doctors should be released... ❤😢

226 3 replies
@deenicaoidha7275 2026-07-07

It’s not a case, it’s a kidnapping of a doctor on his own land by foreign invaders

168 4 replies
@deenicaoidha7275 2026-07-07

Release them all

149 1 replies
@alanhartstein2489 2026-07-07

Those responsible must be held to account!!!

139 7 replies
@bpalpha 2026-07-07

Ashamed of this world for holding no one accountable for a genocide! Vile and cruel.

132 4 replies
@adinahaun6001 2026-07-07

Crime of the Israeli regime that appalls all decent people. Free this honorable doctor, Dr. Shafiya!!

123
@manubande 2026-07-07

That little rogue state should be stopped ASAP... no more impunity for all those criminals...

101 3 replies
@yousreyakhalil5238 2026-07-07

That is heartbreaking

89 3 replies
@SydG01 2026-07-07

I will never forget the the IDF forced all medical staff to leave the hospital neonatal intensive care unit with 5 babies in incubators and all of those babies died.

66 7 replies
@yousreyakhalil5238 2026-07-07

Free Dr Hussam Abi Safeya

62 3 replies

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